Ledebouria is a genus of deciduous or weakly evergreen bulbs in the Hyacinthaceae family. It is only recently established as a genus apart from Scilla which is a genus of the Northern Hemisphere. There are a few species found in winter rainfall areas as well. Ledebouria was the subject of the PBS list topic of the week May 2004. Rhoda McMaster provided the introduction for the discussion. There continues to be discussion about separation of the genera Drimiopsis and Resnova and the same plants are often grown under different names. Species have 1 to 20 leaves that are partly or fully developed at flowering and are erect, spreading or depressed, sometimes spirally twisted, linear to suborbicular, fleshy or leathery, smooth to hairy, green to purple with or without darker green or purple markings.
There are sixty plus species in sub-Saharan Africa, with one or two species each in India and Madagascar. It is found mostly in areas of summer rainfall in subtropical savannas and grasslands in the eastern and northeastern parts of southern Africa. The greatest species diversity occurs in the eastern and central parts of the Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga.
Seeds are produced by pollination of two different clones. They are ephemeral and should be sown immediately after ripening. Sow seeds in a well drained medium (1:1 organic:inorganic) and keep in a warm area (room temperature or above) until sprouting. Seedlings may not go into winter dormancy in their first year. Keep seedlings of South African species dry during their winter dormancy (Nhu Nguyen).
Ledebouria crispa is a dwarf species with a most attractive crisped leaf margin and spreading leaves to 5mm and an erect inflorescence. This is a species from the Northern province with leaves present at flowering.
Ledebouria cooperi (syn. Scilla cooperi) is a widely cultivated species. It grows in damp grassland in a wide part of Eastern South Africa. It has glossy green erect or sometimes floppy leaves with purplish spots above and longitudinal purple stripes beneath and bright pink flowers. In South Africa it blooms October to February. The plants in the first photo taken by Bob Rutemoeller are growing in a pot in Northern California where it is kept dryish over the winter when it is dormant. These bulbs are pretty tough and will withstand considerable winter wet (Nhu Nguyen). Plants do well with both exposed and unexposed bulbs. Photos #2-4 were taken by Nhu Nguyen showing the lovely veins on the leaves, habit, and a closeup of the flowers.
Ledebouria floribunda is a large species and is used by traditional healers in the Eastern Cape for a variety of ailments. It is more or less evergreen with spreading lanceolate leaves that are spotted with red and nodding purple and greenish flowers with recurved tepals. The stamens are about as long as the style. Several flowering spikes are produced in spring. It occurs in grassland and on stony slopes from the Eastern Cape to the Northern Cape. Photos by Cameron McMaster
Ledebouria galpinii is a dwarf species that is very suitable for pot culture. It has purplish-green textured leaves and a beautiful little cluster of pink flowers in early spring. Photo by Cameron McMaster
Ledebouria hypoxidioides is an Eastern Cape species (confined to the hills around Grahamstown) with hairy leaves with ciliate margins and lanceolate tepals. The leaves are present at flowering and the seeds brown.
Ledebouria marginata (Baker) Jessop, syn. Scilla marginata is from the Transvaal. It has spirally twisted tough glaucous leaves with prominent venation. Leaves are difficult to tear and partly emerged with flowering. The bulb is ovoid.
Ledebouria monophylla is a species from Mpumalanga with usually one fleshy appressd leaf without lines or markings and an erect solitary green spotted purple inflorescence and pink pedicels. Tepals are pink to purple and the upper filaments are purple and the anthers yellow.
Ledebouria ovalifolia is found in rocky places, often coastal limestone, from the western Cape to the southeastern Cape. It grows to 12 cm and has ascending, soft, lanceolate to ovate leaves and nodding unscented flowers in broad racemes, purple or pink and white. Leaves are present at flowering. It flowers late summer to fall.
Ledebouria ovatifolia is a species that occurs from the Eastern Cape to tropical Africa and Sri Lanka where it is found in stony grassland up to 1980m. It has flat glossy ovate leaves, often faintly speckled or with purple spots. Flowers are nodding, pink to purplish green with recurved tepals and are longer than the leaves. This species has brown to purple bulb scales with copious threads when torn. Leaves are only partly emerged at flowering. Flowering occurs in spring.
Ledebouria ovatifolia spp. scabrida is only found in KwaZulu-Natal. It is solitary in nature (no offsets). The photos are from Cody Howard. Cody grows this species in a pumice mix with very little organic matter. The plants are allowed to go into a dry dormancy in winter. In the spring when the leaves appear, the bulb can be watered again.
Ledebouria petiolata J. C. Manning & Goldblatt, syn. Drimiopsis maculata
Ledebouria revoluta is distributed on stony slopes from Swellendam north to eastern southern Africa and to India. It grows to 15 cm with spreading fleshy glossy lanceolate mostly evergreen leaves that are spotted with red and margins often crisped. The purple and green flowers with recurved tepals are in broad racemes with stamens longer than the style. Leaves are present at flowering. Photos from Cameron McMaster.
Ledebouria socialis (syn. Ledebouria violacea, Scilla socialis, Scilla violacea) is one of the most widely cultivated bulbs, favored by cactus and succulent growers. It is found in fine to medium grained shallow to deep well drained humus rich sandy soil in the transition zone between the Eastern and Western Cape. It usually grows in shade mostly in closed evergreen woodland. A few populations occur in evergreen scrub forest. J. S. Jessop, in African Bot. 36:253 (1970) lumped the various described forms into a single species with small epigeal (exposed) bulbs, erect inflorescences with small flowers and strongly reflexed tepals. He considered the basic green mottled, and silvery mottled leaf forms to be of the same species.
Cultivation of this species is easy. Pot 2/3 of the bulbs exposed above a well drained soil mix (1:1 organic:inorganic, although 2:1 organic inorganic also works well). Give the plants filtered sunlight and never full sun. During the summer growing season, give the plants plenty of water and occasional fertilizer. The plants will not suffer from winter water although it is recommended that they be given a dry dormancy. In many varieties, a wet winter dormancy causes the plants to continue growing without replacing the old leaves. When spring and summer arrives, the plant does not put out a new flush and will not flower.
The dramatic variations in leaf colors and patterns has led to much confusion in both taxonomic and horticultural circles. Even now, there are few available published selection/cultivar names of this species. In an effort to organize this species and its variation based wholly from a horticultural standpoint, new cultivar names are published here. These names should reflect the names previously published elsewhere. Information provided by Nhu Nguyen.
Ledebouria socialis 'Juda' is the variegated form of the species. The margins of the leaves are variegated with either light yellow or pink bands with light green spots. The center of the leaves remain silver with darker green spots. The back of the leaves are pink to pastel violet.
Ledebouria socialis 'Laxifolia' (sensu J. G. Baker 1897). Baker described this form as Scilla laxifolia from a plant cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The bulbs are globose, 1.5in in diameter, leaves are pale green, mottled with darker green, oblong-lanceolate, up to 3in long. The cultivar name refers to the flaccid or "slack" of the leaves.
Ledebouria socialis 'Miner' is a dwarf selection from M. Vassar, HBG 73608. It was called L. socialis 'Minor', but was renamed by John Trager as "Miner" to reflect the "plant's dwarf stature and the horticultural process of selection in search of worthy cultivars" (Trager 2004).
Ledebouria socialis 'Paucifolia' (sensu J.G. Baker 1870). This plant can be found under the name Ledebouria "pauciflora" or sometimes Ledebouria "paucifolia". It most likely came from "Scilla (Ledebouria) paucifolia" (Baker, Refug. Bot. 3:t.181, 1870). Neither of these names are validly published and plants grown under these name were synonymized with L. socialis (Jessop 1970). Bulbs are ovoid, gregariously divided above the ground, slightly scaly; leaves 2, rarely 3, fleshy herbaceous, horizontal patulate, oblong-lanceolate, pallid with strong glaucous green spots; scape flexible coming out of the leaves, raceme loose with 20-30 flowers, pedicels twice as long as the flowers, tepals 6mm long white-green, with the base with little or no purple tint, filament 3/4 length of the tepals, with the distal (tips) purple, the base a little widened. As the name implies, the leaves of this cultivar seems to be shorter than others. Bulbs grow completely above the soil and multiply readily. Both bulbs and leaves grow slower than the 'Violacea' form. A dry-ish winter dormancy is usually necessary to induce the plants to bloom in spring. Photos by Nhu Nguyen.
Ledebouria socialis 'Violacea' is one of the most commonly cultivated forms of the species. Tjaden (1989) segregated this form based on leaf coloration as Ledebouria violacea. The upper surface of the leaves are silver with green spots and the lower surface is a maroon violet. Coloration, leaf length, and overall compaction depends on cultivation conditions. Photo 1 was taken by David Fenwick and photos 2-4 were taken by Nhu Nguyen of plants growing in high light.
Photos 1-3 below from Nhu Nguyen are of plants growing in a more shady condition, causing some leaf etiolation. Photo 4 was taken by Cameron McMaster and shows a form found near the Keiskamma River.
Ledebouria socialis 'Zebrina' (sensu Stephen Jankalski) has been called Scilla violacea var. nana as a horticultural name. The upper surface of the leaves are silvery with darker horizontal (transverse) stripes. It is aptly called 'Zebrina'. The photo below was taken by David Fenwick.
Ledebouria sp. growing out of a hole in a vertical rock face, Eastern Cape. Photo by Cameron McMaster
Ledebouria sp. is one of the smaller species and grows in montane grassland on the Amatola Mountains, Eastern Cape. Photo by Cameron McMaster
Ledebouria sp. is found in the Drakensberg, near Thendele and Mont aux Sources, in October 2002 by Roy Herold.
Ledebouria sp. is widely cultivated. It was originally collected from Barberton, RSA. Photos taken by Nhu Nguyen.
Ledebouria sp. from Tanzania. Photos by Alessandro Marinello of Italy.
Ledebouria sp. was seen in Maclear January 2010 and photographed by Mary Sue Ittner.
Ledebouria sp. was grown from seed labeled Ledebouria ovalifolia but it is not that species as the leaves are very different. I am able to grow it successfully in Northern California, by sheltering it somewhat from our winter rainfall. It flowers in late spring, early summer. Photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Ledebouria undulata is found in rocky places in the western Cape and the Karoo. The leaves, which are not present at flowering, are ascending, narrowly lanceolate with undulated margins. Flowers are in dense racemes, whitish and purple pink or greenish with recurved tepals and acridly scented. The pedicels are about as long as the flowers. Flowering time is late spring to summer.