One center of distribution of the genus Romulea is in western Europe and the area around the Mediterranean basin. Species from this area are pictured on this wiki page.
South African Romulea A-D - South African Romulea E-K - South African Romulea L-N - South African Romulea O-S - South African Romulea T-Z - Romulea index
Romulea bulbocodium is found in rocky or sandy places in most part of the Mediterranean basin. The flowers, which are among the largest of the genus, are usually bluish lilac with a yellow center and are shaded purple or green on the outside. A series of photos of this species in habitat in Apulia in Southern Italy, followed by a couple of photos of cultivated plants in open ground in a semi-wild way. All photos by Angelo Porcelli
A rare pure albino form, without any hint of colour even on the back of tepals. Photo by Angelo Porcelli.
This form was acquired from Jane McGary as Romulea bulbocodium ssp. zahnii. The origin of this plant name is not clear. Photo by Bob Rutemoeller showing the stigma overtopping the stamens which is a feature of this species and photos by Mary Sue Ittner show the colorful back of the tepals and the corms.
Romulea bulbocodium var. bulbocodium is considered by some to be the correct name for a plant known as Romulea bulbocodium var. clusiana or Romulea clusiana by others. It is a large flowered lilac romulea with a deep yellow center from southern Europe. The first photograph was taken by Bob Rutemoeller and the second by Nhu Nguyen.
Romulea bulbocodium var. crocea , sometimes referred to as Romulea crocea or just Romulea bulbocodium is a yellow form from Turkey and Syria where it grows in sandy soils. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner including the corms on a 1 cm. grid.
Romulea columnae has small white or pale lilac pointed flowers with darker veins. This is a very short plant from Europe, Great Britain, and North Africa. This one came in with seed of Crocus corsicus (ex wild) and is photographed by Tony Goode. The second photo by Angelo Porcelli shows the very tiny size of the flower compared to a fingernail.
Romulea engleri photo by Lauw de Jager is of northwest African origin
Romulea grandiscapa is called by several different names (syn. Romulea columnae ssp. grandiscapa, syn. Romulea hartungii). It is native to the Canary Islands, purple with a yellow throat, and is easy to grow in cultivation in summer-dry conditions. First photo by Mary Sue Ittner. Second photo by Michael Mace, showing a form that is darker in the throat and almost white at the tepal tips.
Romulea ligustica is found in Sardinia and Liguria and also said to occur on the Western Mediterranean coasts of Northern Africa and Southern Spain. It is a winter flowering species with a lovely soft shade of lilac and pale blue, with a small white throat. A very rewarding species in cultivation, long flowering with several blossoms per corm. First photo by Angelo Porcelli. Corms on a 1 cm grid by M. Gastil-Buhl.
Romulea linaresii is an endemic of Western Sicily (ssp. linaresii). It is found also in the Aegean Islands (ssp. graeca) and in Aethiopia with (ssp. abyssinica). It is similar to Romulea ramiflora but each bract has a membranous margin and the entire flower is violet.
Romulea nivalis Upright growth and smallish flowers are distinctive features of this species. Native of Syria and Lebanon. Photograph by Tony Goode is rather dark - a better picture can be found in Bulbs By Rix and Phillips p31. Photograph of corms on a 1 cm grid by M. Gastil-Buhl.
Romulea ramiflora has a rather wide distribution in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Greece. This species has a violet-lilac perianth with darker veins and a yellow throat. The back of the tepals are green and the upper bract has a membranous margin while the lower bract is green. The stigmas are about the same height as the stamens. Photos below are of plants that we were slow to identify correctly. The first grown by Tony Goode shows a plant in cultivation in the UK thought to be Romulea bulbocodium. It seeds around gently in the garden and breeds true. The plants in the next photos were grown from seed exchange and labeled Romulea linaresii and Romulea ramiflora. With the help of Angelo Porcelli we have at last sorted them out. Photo #2 by Bob Rutemoeller. Photos #3-4 by Mary Sue Ittner shows the flower being pollinated the first day it opened and the bracts and the markings on the back. A pbs list member from Southern California reports that this species become invasive in his garden. It has not been a problem in Northern California however.
Romulea tempskyana is present in the island of Cyprus, also Aegean I., Turkey and Palestine. Photos by Alessandro Marinello.
South African Romulea A-D - South African Romulea E-K - South African Romulea L-N - South African Romulea O-S - South African Romulea T-Z - Romulea index