An Assortment of Haemanthus

RIGHT: Haemanthus cameus, a rare endemic of the Bosberg mountain near Somerset East. A unique feature of this species is that it has anthers and filaments enclosed within the perianth tube - the only member of the genus with this feature. An assortment of Haemanthus At least five species of this fascinating genus, each with a number of forms and varieties, occur in the Eastern Cape Text and photographs by cameron and Rhoda McMaster, African Bulbs, Napier T he genus Haemanthus belongs to the family Haemanthus albiflos paint brush, white powder-puff Arnaryllidaceae, and consists of twenty-one species, all of This is the most widespread of all the species occurring in the which occur in southern Africa. The following are five Eastern Cape. It is amazingly adaptive and versatile in its species, with several varieties and forms, that we have habitat, and is a particularly desirable and easy to grow gar encountered in the Eastern Cape. den subject, and suitable as a groundcover in areas of semi shade. It is equally at home in deep shade on forest floors, on BELOW: Haemanthus albiflos, commonly known as the paint brush and white pow rocky sea shores exposed to salt spray, in coastal dune for der-puff, growing just above the high tide mark on the East Coast near Haga Haga. est, on cliff faces in hot river valleys where it clings in large This species is the most widespread of all the Haemanthus species in the Eastern Cape, occurring in a variety of habitats, but preferring a shady situation. clumps to crevasses in full sun, and in shady places on high altitude inland mountain ranges. It is evergreen and multi plies vegetatively, as well as from seed. The attractive white flowers appear in May and the ripe seeds are carried in equally attractive clusters of scarlet fruit. When new telephone lines were being put in at the coast, we picked up a number of H. albiflos that had been uproot ed and transplanted them under a tree. The leaves were frosted off in the first winter, but thereafter they retained their leaves even at -5°C overnight. (In fact, seedlings keep their leaves even at -2 DC. It seems that they are more frost hardy when the leaves have grown out in situ under cold con ditions.) Once when we picked some stems with green seeds and left them in a box for a few weeks to ripen, some bulbUs formed at the flower ends of the stems, amongst the seed stalks. An interesting small form with oval leaves occurs as single individual plants on bush-clad hillsides in the Keiskamma River valley. Another form with greyish oval leaves, which we took for H. humilis before it flowered, occurs in thicket vege tation on steep north-facing slopes in the Kei River valley, where it grows in rock crevices. Haemanthus montanus Haemanthus montanus is much more localised in its dis tribution. It occurs from the Eastern Cape northwards and a population in the Bedford district is probably its most south ern extremity. H. montanus prefers small areas of poorly drained, shallow soil with an impervi ing krantzes (cliffs) along the Thomas which normally grows in dune forest ous substratum. It completes its annu River in the Cathcart district. It was along the East Cape coasts.) A leaf of al cycle in four months, the period dur always a puzzle to us how many young this giant form that we put in a plant ing which its fairly hostile habitat plants became established on almost press surprised us after a month or two remains moist. It occurs in dense vertical places between the rock strata with a few (flattish!) bulbils that devel stands, the large cream flowers appear on cliffs. When handling ripe seed, we oped in the press, in some space creat ing in early January, rapidly followed soon realized that this is was due to ed by the thickness of the leaf. by two upright leaves. The seed ripens fact that the seed is very sticky with fil In stark contrast to the 'giant' is a by mid-February and germinates rap aments that enable it to cling to virtu diminutive form which occurs near idly around the parent plants. The ally any surface and, under favourable King Williams Town. It is scarcely more leaves dry off and blow away by the end conditions, become rooted seedlings. than 15 cm high, with tiny flowers not of May when all signs of the bulb pop An isolated population of H. humilis more than 4 cm in diameter. ulation have vanished. It adapts well to with small grey hairy leaves and cream Another particularly dark pink form gardens and containers, and despite its flowers occurs on the farm Keibolo, in of H. humilis occurs in the central long dormancy, is an attractive subject. the Stutterheim district of the Kei River Karoo in a region with less than Haemanthus humilis velskoenblaar valley growing under acacia trees in 300 mm rainfall per annum and night H. humilis humilis has fairly round semi shade. temperatures that can drop to -10°C in flat leaves, flowers in January and is Another amazing giant form grows in winter. They were growing under the deciduous. New leaves appear with the full shade on a south-facing cliff on the shelter of rocks near Nieu Bethesda flowers and persist through to late north bank of the Kei River less than between Graaff Reinet and Middelburg. spring. It occurs in isolated popula 10 km distant. It has massive almost A diminutive form of H. humilis occurs tions always between rocks on steep hairless, dark green leaves - as large as between King Williams Town and Debe cliff faces. The different populations are dinner plates - with gorgeous large, Neck and also in the Grahamstown extremely variable with regard to size, deep pink flowers. It grows here with district. the degree of hairiness and the colour other shade-loving bulbs such as Haemanthus carneus of the leaves and flowers. The most Haemanthus albijlos and Veltheimia The rare H. cameus which also flow widespread is a medium-sized pink bracteata. (This is probably the furthest ers in January is very closely related to form, very common on steep north fac- inland occurrence of the latter species, H. humilis, the differences being a ABOVE: A dwarf form of Haemanthus humilis from near King Williams Town. This unique form never exceeds 20 cm in height and has tiny leaves and flowers. LEFT: The leaves of the giant form of Haemanthus humilis sometimes reach 50 cm in diameter. LEFT: Although widespread, Haemanthus montanus grows in iso lated localised colonies in specialized habitats characterized by shallow seasonally wet soil with an impervious underlay. September 2004 Veld&Flora 109 rather looser, widely spreading umbel should be considered separate from above, which flowers in winter so they and stamens included well within the H. humilis on the basis of the small dif don't hybridize. H coccineus occurs perianth: the only known Haemanthus ference mentioned above. What confus from here in a summer rainfall region, with this feature. It has the same es the issue is a further form that through the winter rainfall region of the growth pattern as H. humilis, with occurs some 40 km further west on Western Cape and up to the arid leaves emerging just after the flowers Bruintjieshoogte, which has stamens regions of Namaqualand and Namibia: and persisting to late spring. It occurs the same length as the perianth tube, an enormous range of over 2000 km! in thicket and grassland on the as does the cream form of H. humilis The flower stems can be reddish, or Bosberg mountain near Somerset East. from Keibolo, mentioned above. These blotched with red. and the leaves have Even within the contiguous population seem to be intermediate between varying degrees of stripes on the under here, which extends from acacia thick H. cameus and H. humilis. side. et near the bottom of the mountain to Haemanthus coccineus April fool There must be many more popula grassland near the summit, there is It is very surprising to find the tions of Haemanthus in the Eastern considerable variation. The lower alti Western Cape species, H. coccineus, Cape - a region so botanically exciting tude plants have lighter flowers and are which flowers in autumn, occurring as and so rich in biodiversity - waiting to distinctly more hairy than those that far east as the Keiskamma River valley be found. This brief introduction to the occur in the open grassland near the near Hamburg. It grows here in valley genus in this region should spur top of the mountain. thicket vegetation, together with the intrepid wildflower enthusiasts to fur One wonders whether H. cameus dwarf form ot: H. albijlos mentioned ther exploration. ABOVE LEFT: The typical form of Haemanthus humilis subsp. humilis, sometimes called the velskoenblaar, from the Thomas River area in the Cathcart district, Eastern Cape. This form grows between rocks on north-facing cliffs. RIGHT: The giant form of Hae nthus humilis which occurs on south facing cliffs in the Kei River valley where it grows in shade. BELOW: Haemanthus coccineus, commonly known as April fool, growing at Colchester near Port Elizabeth. This species occurs from Namaqualand around the coast to as far east as the Keiskamma River valley in the Eastern Cape. Further reading Snijman, D.A. 1984. A revision of the genus Haemanthus L. (Amaryllidaceael. Journal of South African Botany Supplementary vol. 12..

Load more