The genus Haemanthus in the Amaryllis Family (Amaryllidaceae) is endemic to southern Africa. They are in the tribe Haemantheae, and Haemanthus is very closely related to Scadoxus and less closely to Clivia and Gethyllis, all in the same tribe.
The plants form bulbs which may grow at the surface of the soil or slightly below the surface. Most of the species grow in areas having rainfall only in winter and they grow in that season. The rest are from the much larger summer rainfall area, and they grow in summer. All are deciduous when dormant except for a few evergreen species.
In the older literature, the plants of the genus Scadoxus were included under Haemanthus. For the criteria used to distinguish Scadoxus from Haemanthus, see our Scadoxus page.
The flowers are borne in an umbel which may or may not be enclosed by colored upright bracts called spathe valves. The individual florets are star-like, actinomorphic. The fruits are large berries which may be green, pink, orange or red when ripe. Within the thin layer of flesh is the large turgid white or green seed. Haemanthus seeds, like most fleshy amaryllid seeds, undergo no dormant period. Indeed they cannot be forced into dormancy, and will germinate even lying bare and dry on a tabletop. They can sometimes be kept in a refrigerator for a few months and still remain ungerminated but viable.
The hardiest Haemanthus in cultivation is the evergreen species Haemanthus albiflos. Native to KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Provinces of the Republic of South Africa, this plant grows in areas having summer rainfall and in areas with year-round rain.
The flower head resembles a paintbrush, so this white-flowered plant can be called the White Paintbrush. It blooms mainly in autumn, but occasional blooms may occur at any time in cultivation.
The bulb sits on the surface of the soil or potting mix, and exposed live tissue is green and photosynthetic. There are usually four leaves on the plant at a time. The oldest are shed as new leaves grow out. Unlike many Haemanthus species, the bulbs of this one produce offsets readily.
The outline below is only a partial list of the known species of Haemanthus, many of which are very rare in cultivation. Some of the species of Haemanthus include the following:
albiflos -- found over a wide area from the southern Cape region through KwaZulu-Natal Province
Flowers white
Blooms in autumn
Evergreen, usually having four leaves at a time, receives year-round rainfall in habitat
Closely related to H. deformis and H. pauculifolius
Very easy to grow, hardy outdoors in Southern California
amarylloides -- found in Namaqualand in the Western Cape Province
Bloom in late summer to late autumn
Inflorescence pale to deep pink, spreading
Leaves 2 or 3, variable in form and posture
Very variable; there are at least three subspecies
Very slow growing for me, not vigorous in the greenhouse
barkerae -- found in the Bokkeveld Mountains of the Western Cape Province
Deciduous, winter growing
Leave up to ca. 10 inches long and narrow, ca. 1 inch wide.
Flowers in late summer - early autumn
Inflorescence pale pink to rose
carneus -- found in a few very widely scattered sites in Free State, in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, and in the Eastern Cape Province
Blooms in late summer to autumn
Deciduous, with leaves appearing in autumn and persisting until the following spring or early summer
Very similar to H. humilis but with the stamens always "included" (i.e., filaments shorter than the perianth segments)
coccineus -- found widely distributed in the winter-rainfall area of South Africa, in the Western Cape Province and north into Namibia, and east beyond Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province.
Inflorescence coral to scarlet, spathe valves erect
Deciduous, winter growing but sometimes leafs out in late summer
Leaves two or rarely three, with red or dark green striations on the undersides at the base; strap-like to elliptical in shape, never wider than they are long; recurving, only rarely prostrate
Vigorous, hardy, excellent greenhouse plant, although slow to flower from seed
crispus -- found in Namaqualand in the Northern Cape Province
Bloom in autumn, but up to a month earlier in cultivation
Scape is short
Inflorescence red with broad, blunt spathe valves
Deciduous, winter growing
Leaves canaliculate, but otherwise vary greatly, from very narrow to wide, green to glaucous, margins strongly undulate; 11 to 20 cm (ca. 5 to 8 inches) long, 7 to 30 mm (ca. 5/16 to 1¼ inch) wide
Bulb tunics are unusual for winter-rainfall Haemanthus, not being distichous but dying down horizontally
dasyphyllus -- Known only from two areas, Langberg and Kubiskouberg of the Western Mountain Karoo area.
Flowers coral pink to scarlet
Bracts oblong, coral pink to scarlet
Winter growing, deciduous
Flowers before the leaves in autumn
Leaves 1 or 2, lanceolate, covered on both surfaces with long, soft white hairs
deformis -- found in local populations in the midlands and coastal regions of KwaZulu-Natal and south into the Transkai region of the Eastern Cape Province
Flowers white
Blooms in autumn to spring
Evergeen or nearly so
Closely related to H. albiflos and H. pauculifolius
humilis
ssp. humilis -- found over the karroid regions, the Eastern Cape Province, the Free State, and in the western Transvaal.
The usual form of Haemanthus humilis is this one which grows on steep rocky slopes and cliffs in the Cathcart distict.
Peduncle usually pubescent (covered with fine hairs)
Deciduous, leaves appearing with the flowers in mid- or late summer
Stamens always "exserted" (i.e., filaments longer than the perianth segments)
I find this species difficult in cultivation
Cameron and Rhoda McMaster have contributed some fascinating observations of their own on humilis and carneus (click More).
ssp. hirsutus -- found in the Transvaal highveld, the Drakensberg Escarpment, and into the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal
This is the only plant of H. humilis hirsutus that I have seen bloom. The flowers are snow-white. For a close up of the leaf and stalk, click the image at left.
Peduncle usually pubescent (covered with fine hairs)
Deciduous, leaves appearing with the flowers
Stamens always "exserted" (i.e., filaments longer than the perianth segments)
Peduncle is hairy, leaves may be hairy all over or only along the margins
H. nelsonii is a synonym of H. humilis hirsutus
The plant pictured above is the mother of some hybrids I made:
lanceifolius -- from Namaqualand; winter-growing
Small bulbs, up to 2 inches in diameter (50 mm).
Leaves ca. 2, flat to the ground
Blooms in autumn. Inflorescence pale pink to white.
Deciduous, leaves after blooms in autumn.
montanus -- eastern regions of southern Africa, from King William's Town, Eastern Cape Province, in the south to the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, and the Transvaal highveld.
Blooms in spring to early summer; inflorescence white, spreading; spathe valves membranous, becoming reflexed
Peduncle smooth and hairless
Deciduous, with leaves appearing in early summer and dying back in winter
Light green leaves two, strap-like, held erect
Shares much of the same geographic range as H. humilis
This species appears to me to be relatively easy in cultivation, but slow growing from seed
namaquensis -- found in northern Namaqualand in the Northern Cape Province and in southern Namibia
This is the first plant of H. namaquensis that I have seen bloom. I grew it from seed provided by Silverhill Seeds and planted here in 1997. The bulb is growing in a 9-in diameter by 9 inches deep pot in a very gritty mix. The inflorescence is about 7.5 inches tall, of which ca. 2.5 inches is the umbel. The leaves on this particular specimen do not have the wavy edges typical of most namaquensis.
The picture was taken on the peak day of the bloom, Aug. 31st. It's now starting to go over somewhat.
Blooms in autumn, occasionally in late summer; blooms only rarely in cultivation
Inflorescence is bright scarlet, compressed
Deciduous, winter growing
Leaves are green to glaucous, wavy margins; 17 to 45 cm (ca. 7 to 18 inches) long, 45 to 110 mm (1¾ to 4½ inches) wide
Somewhat related to H. crispus
nortieri -- found only in the Nardouwsberge in the Western Cape Province
Blooms in autumn
Bracts deep rose-red and leathery; flowers light scarlet
Deciduous, winter growing
Leaves are solitary, erect, obovate to spathulate (widest at middle, narrow at base), dull green with some red near the base.
Extremely slow-growing from seed; Grahan Duncan had one seedling go 19 years before it finally bloomed
pauculifolius -- found only on the Transvaal Drakensberg Escarpment
Flowers white
Evergreen or nearly so
Leaves single or at most two; more or less hairy
Closely related to H. albiflos
pubescens -- found in the Western Cape province
Blooms in autumn
Winter growing
Inflorescence red, rarely pink
Spathe valves 4 or 5 or more, fleshy; pointed at the tips; longer than the flowers
Leaves 2 or 3, recurving or flat on the ground
Difficult for me in the greenhouse
There are three subspecies
sanguineus -- found in the Western Cape Province and as far east as Port Elizabeth
Blooms in late summer to autumn
Inflorescence red to wine-red, or pink, compressed laterally to give a paint-brush appearance
Deciduous, winter growing
Leaves two, rough and leathery, plain light green on the underside or rarely lightly spotted with red; lying pressed to the ground, those of coastal populations are wider than they are long
unifoliatus -- Found in the Western or Northern Cape province, along the Namaqualand Escarpment
Blooms in autumn
Flowers and spathe valves scarlet.
Winter-growing
One leaf, sometimes 2, obovate (narrow at base)
Culture
I am probably not very well qualified to advise anyone on how to grow Haemanthus. Over the years, I have killed many more than I have kept. In particular, immature seedling bulbs are very hard to keep alive during their dormant periods.
In general they should be potted in a very gritty mix. They need a healthy root system to grow and flower, so do not under-pot them. Instead, water very carefully when in active growth and not at all during dormancy.
They will need to be fed from time to time. Feeding with a very dilute solution of a water-soluble fertilizer at each watering may be advantageous. I recommend using an N-P-K formula of 20-5-15, or 20-10-20 if necessary, and always one with micronutrients.
Small seedling bulbs, up to two or three years old, should be given a little water occasionally while in dormant condition. Otherwise they can die from desiccation. Note also that small seedling bulbs very much resent being disturbed, so never repot a seedling bulb during its first three or four growing seasons. It is far better to start each seed in its own 4- or 5-inch pot, and to leave it in that pot, with the roots completely undisturbed, for as many years as possible. Haemanthus grown from seed can take anywhere from 4 years to 9 or more years to bloom.
When ready to repot a bulb of Haemanthus, try to do this just at the start of the plant's growing season. For the winter-growing species, this is going to be in late July or in August in the Northern Hemisaphere. Be careful to disturb the roots as little as possible when repotting.
Jim Shields
Acknowledgements
My thanks to Rhoda and Cameron McMaster for their comments and pictures and to Doug Westfall for the great picture of H. coccineus.
