Haemanthus coccineus
Common name
Blood lily, blood flower
Synonyms
Wikipedia cites the following synonyms: Haemanthus callosus Burch. ex Baker; Haemanthus carinatus L.; Haemanthus coarctatus Jacq.; Haemanthus concolor Herb.; Haemanthus crassipes Jacq.; Haemanthus hookerianus Herb.; Haemanthus hyalocarpus Jacq.; Haemanthus latifolius Salisb.; Haemanthus moschatus Jacq.; Haemanthus splendens Dinter; Haemanthus tigrinus Jacq.; Perihemia coarctata (Jacq.) Raf.
Family
Amaryllidaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
Conservation status
Not applicable
Brief description
Large subterranean bulb from which flower heads emerge February-March (in NZ). Each head of flowers is surrounded by scarlet bracts. Some weeks after flowering the large lark green fleshy leaves appear, two or three per bulb. Petioles red-spotted. The leaves die off in November-December.
Flower colours
Red/Pink
Fruiting
Translucent, fleshy berries are set occasionally in cultivation in NZ.
Propagation technique
Bulb division; seed
Year naturalised
2005, as garden discard
Origin
South Africa, Namibia
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Colin C Ogle, 13 Oct 2016
References and further reading
http://www.plantzafrica.com/planthij/haemancoc.htm