Ornithogalums from Southern Africa from P-Z are found on this wiki page.
Southern African Ornithogalums from A-N
Ornithogalum pruinosum has 4 to 6 bluish green basal oblong to lanceolate leaves. The white flowers are borne in a dense flower head. It is found on rocky slopes in Namaqualand to the western Karoo. The first two photos by Bob Rutemoeller were taken in such a spot near Kamieskroon September 2006. The next two photos were taken by Alan Horstmann.
Ornithogalum sandersiae Grows in summer and spends winter on basement floor dry. Native to South Africa Photo by Arnold Trachtenberg
Ornithogalum secundum is found on stony slopes and flats in Namaqualand and the western Cape. It has spreading or nodding yellow flowers with green keels. Leaves are usually dry at flowering. The picture from John Grimshaw is of a bulb from Kamieskroon, Northern Cape, flowering at Colesbourne.
Ornithogalum suaveolens is found on dry slopes and flats in a wide area including Namibia, Namaqualand and the Cape Province. It has spreading or nodding yellow flowers with green keels. Photo taken by Alan Horstmann.
Ornithogalum thyrsoides is found on sandy flats and lower slopes in marshes from Namaqualand to Pearly Beach. It is very variable in form. Flowers are white, often with a dark center. This species is very similar to Ornithogalum conicum which is found in some of the same areas. Ornithogalum conicum never has a dark center. O. thyrsoides has large bracts and inner filaments with broad membranous wings. The inner filaments on O. conicum are ovate or expanded below, but then the lower expansion is squared above and not curved inward over the ovary as it is in this species. The first series of pictures are clearly O. thyrsoides because of the darker center and where they were seen. The first two photographs were taken by Cameron McMaster near Napier in the Overberg and the next by Mary Sue Ittner near Darling in the Western Cape in September 2006 of an especially attractive form.
I’m not so sure about the identification of the next two series of pictures, but think on the basis of the broad membranous wings that curve inward they could be O. thyrsoides. The first population was seen near Vanrhysdorp September 2006 growing in abundance along the road. Photos by Bob Rutemoeller show the habitat, the plants, and the flowers with bracts and a close-up by Mary Sue Ittner shows the filaments.
This population was viewed in the Cederberg between Nieuwoudtville and Clanwilliam. Photographs by Mary Sue Ittner taken September 2006.
These Ornithogalum bulbs were purchased unnamed at a garden center. They could be hybrids, but if so probably have this species in their parentage. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner with some flowers left unopened and then fully open. The final two pictures are close-ups of O. thyrsoides taken by Alan Horstmann.
Ornithogalum xanthochlorum is a large plant with 10 to 12 somewhat succulent basal leaves and many greenish flowers borne in a dense flower head. It is found on sandy flats in Namaqualand and also in the Calvinia area. Photographs taken in Namaqualand September 2006 by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner.
Albuca - Dipcadi - Galtonia - Neopatersonia - Pseudogaltonia - Ornithogalum index - Southern African Ornithogalum A-N
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