Brunsvigia is a South African genus of Amaryllidaceae which grow in semi-arid regions . There are about 20 species which produce amazing floral displays in autumn. Brunsvigia was the topic of the week for the Pacific Bulb Society list in January 2003. Click on the link to read Bill Dijk's Introduction. For more information consult the The South African National Biodiversity Institute Brunsvigia page.
×Amarygia is the name used for hybrids between Amaryllis belladonna and Brunsvigia.
Brunsvigia bosmaniae is found in the northwest and southwest Cape and in the Roggeveld on open flats, coastal sand, loam, or granite soils. It is a winter grower. The first photo was taken by Bill Dijk who grows these very successfully in New Zealand. The second was taken by Mary Sue Ittner of leaves at the Karoo Desert NBG.
Brunsvigia comptonii grows on gravel flats and slopes in the Little Karoo and the western Karoo. It grows to 5 in. (12 cm) and has flowers that are pale to deep pink with dark veins and flared upward. It flowers in summer (Feb-March in the southern hemisphere.) The first photo by Bill Dijk. The next three photos of flowers, leaves, and fruit were taken on a farm in the Ceres Karoo by Cameron McMaster who writes that this species produces very dainty little flowers in a tough dry environment where rainfall averages 100mm a year when it falls.
Brunsvigia grandiflora is found scattered in grassland, at 1200-3200 meters in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Free State. An important feature of this species is the upright leaves that are quite undulate or wavy. Although it is from a summer rainfall area leaves don't appear until late summer early fall. It blooms from January to March in the wild. The leaves persist through the winter and finally dry off in spring. Photos by Bill Dijk and Mary Sue Ittner. Plants grown in northern California bloom November to December, with or after the leaves reappear.
Photos below were taken by Cameron McMaster in the Eastern Cape illustrating flowers, a locust hopper on the flowers, leaves, and fruit.
The photos below where taken at the UC Botanical Garden November 2008. Photos 1-2 were taken by Nhu Nguyen and #3 was contributed by the UC Botanical Garden.
Brunsvigia gregaria is a species found on sandstone or clay flats or slopes in the Cape (southern to eastern parts). Flowers are clear pink with a center green stripe and appear in fall before the smooth flat leaves.The first two photos are of two color forms by Bill Dijk. The last four were taken by Cameron McMaster in the Eastern Cape.
Brunsvigia herrei is allied to Brunsvigia bosmaniae and has light pink flowers. It's distribution range is from Namibia southward into Namaqualand. The lighting in the following photo doesn't show the characteristic red leaf margin that is typical of this species. Photo by Jacob Knecht.
Brunsvigia josephinae has a widespread distribution in the western Cape which receives mainly winter rainfall. Photos #1-4 were taken by Rob Hamilton during February 2003 in Tasmania. The first photo shows an early flower spike which shows the brown and papery tunic of Brunsvigia josephinae. This bulb was replanted late December 2002 and weighed almost 3 kg. Second photos is of a more advance spike which shows yellow on the proximal flower tube. The third photo shows Brunsvigia josephinae in all its glory. Many flowers are yet to open-there are almost 50 in total. The scape is 60cm (24 inches) wide. The fourth photo is a close-up showing the individual red flowers.
Photos #1-3 were taken by Nhu Nguyen of specimens at the UC Botanical Garden. Photo #1 shows a full blooming inflorescence among aloes. The second and third shows a hummingbird which acts as a pollinator for this species in northern California. Photo #4 was taken by Ron Vanderhoff at the UC Irvine Arboretum October 2009.
The first photo is a close-up of a flower taken in the Eastern Cape by Cameron McMaster. The second photo was taken by Mary Sue Ittner of leaves at the Karoo Desert NBG. The last photo from Jacob Knecht is of seeds germinating next to a U.S. 25 cent piece (2.5cm wide).
Brunsvigia litoralis is a species found in the southeastern Cape in coastal sands. Photos by Bill Dijk and Cameron McMaster. The last picture was taken near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. The following three photos are from Jacob Knecht: The third photo is a close up of an individual flower, the fourth of leaves and the fifth of a dried infructescence held by a friend for scale.
Brunsvigia marginata is a species from the winter rainfall area found on rocky mountain slopes, in shale bands. The first photo was taken by Bill Dijk and the next three by Mary Sue Ittner including one of the leaves after they have reappeared in fall. The last photo from Jacob Knecht is of seeds next to a U.S. 25 cent piece (2.5cm wide).
The photos below were taken by Nhu Nguyen at the UC Botanical Garden. The first two photos shows a succession of leaf development of a single specimen. The next three shows the plant flowering for the first time.
Brunsvigia namaquana is a miniature species from Namaqualand that has pink zygomorphic flowers and leaves covered in golden bristles, two characteristics not common among species of Brunsvigia. In mature plants the leaves are appressed. The first picture is of a seedling leaf already showing its bristles, by Jacob Knecht. The second photo taken by Nhu Nguyen shows an older plant but still many years from blooming.
Brunsvigia orientalis is found on sandy flats along the coast, riverbeds or inland sand plumes in predominantly winter rainfall areas (and some year round patterns). This large bulb can carry up to 50 crimson flowers in a large rounded umbel. The leaves appear after the flowers die. Photo of flowers by Bill Dijk and one of the leaves shortly after they have reappeared in fall (with Cyclamen coum) by Mary Sue Ittner. The third photo was taken by Cameron McMaster in the Overberg. The fourth photo from Jacob Knecht is of seeds next to a U.S. 25 cent piece (2.5cm wide). The fifth photo shows 8-week-old seedlings sown in early 2009 by Byron Amerson.
Brunsvigia pulchra is a very handsome species formerly classified as Boophone pulchra from the western Cape. The first photo is of a 3 year old seedling, by Jacob Knecht.
Brunsvigia radula is a small plant with pressed down hairy leaves and flowers with tepals curving in the upper half and with long stamens. It grows in crevices of dolomite outcrops in Namaqualand. Photo by Alan Horstmann.
Brunsvigia radulosa is found in grassland in the eastern parts of South Africa and Swaziland. It has spreading prostrate leaves and pink to red flowers in January or February. Photos taken in the Eastern Cape by Cameron McMaster. The third photos shows the prostrate leaves that appear in winter, by Jacob Knecht. Photo #4 by Nhu Nguyen shows seeds which already have sent out their radicles. The fifth photo shows one-month-old seedlings Byron Amerson.
Brunsvigia striata (syn. Brunsvigia minor) is found on heavy or humus-rich, often stony soils. Origin is northwestern, southwestern Cape and the western Karoo, but this species is also listed for the Eastern Cape so may have a variety of rainfall patterns, but mostly winter rainfall. The first photo by Bill Dijk. The second photo taken by Cameron McMaster is one from a large population near Cape Infanta which is at the mouth of the Breede River in the Southern Cape. The last picture is of seeds taken by Jacob Knecht next to a U.S. 25 cent piece (2.5cm wide).
Brunsvigia sp. nova is a rare dwarf species that is rumoured to be formally described and named soon. It's native to the mountains along the Orange River near Pela and Pofadder in the northern Cape Province. Mine have not yet flowered but are said by others to have tight umbels of light pink to white blossoms. Here is a picture of some of mine in winter growth, by Jacob Knecht. The brown leaves lending scale to the miniature nature of this species are of the tree species Pyrus calleryana, the leaves of which average at about 6cm wide.
