Haemanthus

The usual form of Haemanthus humilis is this one which grows on steep rocky slopes and cliffs in the Cathcart distict.

I found it fascinating to see plants on vertical cliffs and wondered how the seed lodged there.  The penny dropped when I started collecting the seed myself and noticed that they were so sticky, they would stick to any surface - probably long enough to germinate and take root.  These plants nearly all grow on very steep slopes between rocks.

We come across a white, hairy form growing on gentle slopes under acacia bush at lower altitudes in the Kei Valley near Stutterheimorm.  I call this the KeiBolo form after the farm on which I found it.

Near New Bethesda in a dry, high altitude habitat we came across this form. The flower is dark pink with very yellow anthers.

Haemanthus carneus is my favourite.  It grows in large numbers in a very localised population on the upper slopes of the Bosberg on a gentle slope in thick grass sward.  Lower down the mountain a more hairy form of a much lighter pink occurs in bush country. The two populations are only about 2 kilometeres apart, and yet differ from each other.  Here is the form from the grassland population.

Here is the form from the bushveld population on the lower slopes of the mountain

Last updated 5 September 2002
© Copyright 2002 by James E. Shields. All rights reserved.