The pictures below are of Romuleas that are native to South Africa, grown from seed or seen in the wild. Many of the species are very similar and difficult to tell apart. Sometimes it is necessary to examine the bracts and bracteoles and often looking at the corm is very helpful. Photos of the different corms will be added as available. Species from L to N are shown on this page.
European And Mediterranean Romuleas – South African Romulea A-D – South African Romulea E-K – South African Romulea O-S – South African Romulea T-Z – Romulea index
Romulea leipoldtii is found on damp sandy sites in the western Cape, flowering in spring. The flowers are cream to white with a yellow cup. My first pictures made my flowers look cream and later pictures white. Finally there is a picture of the corms on a 1 cm grid; there are obliquely flattened towards the base with a crescent-shaped basal ridge. . Photos by Mary Sue Ittner.
Romulea luteoflora has yellow flowers with dark lines or blotches around the cup. It flowers late winter into spring and is found on loamy soils in the Cape Province. Photos taken Jan 2004 by Mary Sue Ittner of plants grown from Silverhill Seed showing a close-up, a whole pot in bloom, and the back of the flowers.
Romulea macowanii is a summer rainfall Romulea with a golden yellow flower that is often orangy at the base. This plant is found from the Eastern Cape to Kwa Zulu-Natal. Flowering occurs at ground level with almost no flowering stalk. It is distinguished from other yellow flowered species by its long tube, but when mine bloomed I found this hard to see because of the way it blooms. The corm has a crescent shaped basal ridge. It blooms summer to fall. This species grows in similar habitats to Romulea autumnalis , sometimes side by side flowering simultaneously without hybridising. Both prefer high altitude mountain grassland (1000 - 2000m altitude), often in rocky outcrops and often in moist seepages - so they are adapted to a range of environments. They flower from January but peak flowering seems to be in April, which is autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Photos by Cameron McMaster and Mary Sue Ittner.
Romulea membranacea grows on sandy flats in the western Karoo and the Bokkeveld escarpment. It blooms in winter. Flowers are dark yellow with dark lines in the cup. Photo by Alan Horstmann.
Romulea minutiflora is a widespread winter rainfall plant that flowers winter to spring. It has small pale mauve to violet flowers with a greenish-yellow cup, a violet circle in the throat and greenish or mottled backs. Photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Romulea monadelpha, garden grown and photographed in Northern California by Mary Sue Ittner. The second picture shows it from the back. In the wild it grows in damp doleritic clays flats and outcrops in the Bokkeveld and Roggeveld Escarpments. The last picture shows this species next to Romulea sabulosa for comparison. They bloom about a week apart in Northern California.
Pictures taken in habitat in the Roggeveld near Middelpos by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner September 2006.
Romulea montana is found on sandstone outcrops in the northwest Cape. It flowers late winter early spring. Flowers are yellow with dark streaks or blotches in the throat. Photo by Bob Werra.
Romulea monticola blooms winter into spring and is found in sandy loam in fynbos, Northwest Cape. It has small yellow flowers with darker veins in the throat. These two pictures by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner show the front and the back of the flowers.
Romulea namaquensis, is photographed in the first picture by Mary Sue Ittner in Namaqualand, a very dry winter rainfall area of South Africa, growing with Lapeirousia silenoides. The second photo was taken by Alan Horstmann.
European And Mediterranean Romuleas – South African Romulea A-D – South African Romulea E-K – South African Romulea O-S – South African Romulea T-Z – Romulea index
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