Drimia is a genus in the Hyacinthaceae family with white short lived flowers. Taxonomists have now included a number of genera in this genus once separated as other genera. The subgroups in this expanded genus are: Drimia - Litanthus - Rhadamanthus - Tenicroa - Urginea
This wiki page illustrates the members of the Drimia group. The Drimia index includes a table with all the species in the subgroups in this genus listed by name.
Drimia anomala (Baker) Baker, syn. Geschollia anomala (Baker) Speta, syn. Ornithogalum anomalum Baker is distributed in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It has round green bulbs, one long slender succulent leaf produced with the flowers and grows from .8 to 1m. The greenish yellow flowers are formed in a dense raceme. Photos 1-3 taken by Cameron McMaster in the Eastern Cape. Photos 4-5 by Alessandro Marinello.
Drimia capensis is found in mostly clay but also deep red sands and limestone from southern Namaqualand to the Eastern Cape. It grows from 1 to 2 meters high. Bulbs become very large and are underground or partly exposed. The slightly undulate large leaves are dry at flowering. Flowers are white to yellowish with green keels. Photos taken by Cameron McMaster in the Overberg.
Drimia elata syn. Drimia robusta is found in grassland, sandy and clay soils from Namaqualand to the Cape Peninsula, South Africa to Eastern Africa. It has purplish brown, greenish or whitish flowers in a crowded raceme on an erect to spreading stalk. Photos from Cameron McMaster taken in the Overberg and Eastern Cape.
Drimia macrantha (Baker) Baker known most recently as Thuranthos nocturnale is a southern Africa species with flowers that open late in the day. Photos taken by Mary Sue Ittner January 2010 at Waainek in the Eastern Cape on a cool (for summer) overcast day when the flowers were open earlier. It was difficult to photograph a whole plant all in focus so the photos show various features (buds, leaves, close-ups of flowers at different stages.)
Drimia minor is found on sandy flats in the Cape Province. It has terete erect leaves mostly dry at flowering and grows from 5 to 20 cm high. It has a few white to brownish small flowers and blooms from November to March. Photos by Andrew Harvie taken in the De Hoop Nature Reserve.
Drimia salteri grows on sandy or stony soils in the southwest Cape. Plants grow to 25 cm. The white to brown or maroon flowers that are open at night are crowded in a slender raceme. It flowers late spring into summer. Photo taken by Cameron McMaster near Napier in the Overberg.
Drimia sphaerocephala is found in grassland in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. This species flowers before the leaves. Flowers are white, pink, or mauve with a short tube and tepals folded back. It flowers in summer. Photo from Cameron McMaster taken at Satansnek Pass.
Drimia index - Litanthus - Rhadamanthus - Tenicroa - Urginea