Bush lily (Clivia)

Description

Clivia is a genus of monocot flowering plants native to southern Africa. They are from the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Common names are Natal lily or bush lily. They are herbaceous evergreen plants, with green, strap-like leaves. Individual flowers are more or less bell-shaped, occurring in umbels on a stalk above the foliage; colors typically range from yellow through orange to red. Many cultivars exist, some with variegated leaf patterns. Species of Clivia are found only in South Africa and Swaziland. They are typically forest undergrowth plants, adapted to low light (with the exception of C. mirabilis from the Western Cape). Clivia shares common features with the other members of the subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Individual flowers have three sepals and three petals, all very similar (although the sepals are typically narrower than the petals) and collectively called tepals. In Clivia the tepals are fused at the base to form a tube, although this may be very short. The flower varies in shape from an open cup to a narrow hanging tube. In the species the flowers are mainly in shades of yellow through orange to red. The flowers are arranged in umbels (i.e. the flower-stalks or pedicels radiate from a single point); each umbel has a long stalk or peduncle. Several bracts subtend the umbels. Each flower has six stamens and an inferior ovary (i.e. one which is below the tepals) made up of three locules. The stamens have long filaments and anthers which are free to move on their filaments. The style is longer than the tepals, ending in a short three-part stigma. Flowering time varies. Typically C. miniata, C. nobilis and C. caulescens flower in late winter and spring; in cultivation, C. miniata has out of season flowers at almost any time. C. gardenii and C. robusta flower in the autumn. Interspecific hybrids and cultivars can flower at almost any time of the year depending on climate and the flowering pattern of their parent species. A distinctive feature of Clivia – shared with the closely related genus Cryptostephanus – is that unlike most species in the subfamily, it does not form bulbs. The long strap-shaped leaves are evergreen and spring from thick branching roots or rhizomes. Like other members of the tribe Haemantheae to which it belongs, Clivia fruits are berries. When ripe, they contain large fleshy seeds which are often more than 1 cm in diameter.