Featured Plant

Haemanthus coccineus, or paintbrush lily, is a perennial bulb native to Namibia and South Africa. In South Africa it is found throughout the Cape Provinces.

​

The color of the flowers influence both the genus and specific epithet of Haemanthus coccineus. Haemanthus comes from the Greek words for blood, haima, and flower, anthos, referring to the deep red color of the inflorescence. The specific epithet, coccineus, is the Latin word for the color scarlet.

​

It is believed that H. coccineus was one of the first South African plants to appear in a European publication in an illustration by Matthias de l’Obel, a Flemish botanist, in 1605. While the plant was known to European botanists as early as the 1600s, it was not formally named until 1753 in Linnaeus’ publication of Species Plantarum.  

​

The bright red outer structures that appear to be petals are actually what are known as spathe valves, which surround anywhere from 25 to 100 individual flowers.  The flower head of Haemanthus coccineus appear before its leaves, a function known as hysteranthy. After flowering and fruiting, two, or sometimes three, large strap like leaves will appear. This adaptation helps prevents major water loss at one time, as both the leaves and inflorescence lose substantial amounts of moisture.