Bulbine

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Sun, 09 Jun 2013 08:03:43 PDT
Hi Jim,

There are Bulbine species from tropical and southern Africa and 
species in Australia too. Although there are some that qualify as 
"bulbs", many are perennials. It looks like the ones you saw are a 
form of Bulbine frutescens which is a perennial. I have a couple of 
these smaller orange ones in my garden in bloom at the moment. I 
don't really notice them until they bloom and they haven't spread at 
all.  And in my garden they are not in bloom a very long time  in 
spite of the claims for being long blooming. I also have some of the 
species in my garden. It has yellow flowers and is a very robust 
plant someone gave me a piece of when I admired it. She just ripped 
out a hunk. It is tough, long blooming and expands. Every now and 
then I'll reduce the area where it grows. When Cameron McMaster 
visited, he remarked on the medicinal qualities of this plant. Here's 
an interesting link from SANBI about the species that includes how it 
can be used:
http://plantzafrica.com/plantab/bulbinefrut.htm/

Mary Sue




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