Drimia is a genus in the Hyacinthaceae family with white to yellowish green or brown short lived flowers. Taxonomists have now included a number of genera in this genus once separated as other genera. The subgroups in this expanded genus are: Drimia - Litanthus - Rhadamanthus - Tenicroa - Urginea
This wiki page illustrates the members of the Drimia group and includes species previously named Thuranthos. The Drimia index includes a table with all the species in the subgroups in this genus listed by name.
Drimia anomala (Baker) Baker, syn. Geschollia anomala (Baker) Speta, syn. Ornithogalum anomalum Baker is distributed in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It has round green bulbs, one long slender succulent leaf produced with the flowers and grows from 0.8 to 1 m. The greenish yellow flowers are formed in a dense raceme. Photos 1-3 taken by Cameron McMaster in the Eastern Cape. Photos 4-5 by Alessandro Marinello.
Drimia capensis (Burm.f.) Wijnands is found in mostly clay but also deep red sands and limestone from southern Namaqualand to the Eastern Cape. It grows from 1 to 2 meters high. Bulbs become very large and are underground or partly exposed. The slightly undulate large leaves are dry at flowering. Flowers are white to yellowish with green keels. Photos taken by Cameron McMaster in the Overberg.
Drimia cochlearis Mart.-AzorÃn, M.B.Crespo & A.P.Dold, first described in 2013, is a succulent leaved species from the Karoo, related to Drimia ciliata. This particular plant is from near Volmoed, west of Oudtshoorn. Photos from Dylan Hannon.
Drimia elata Jacq. ex Willd., syn. Drimia robusta Baker, is found in grassland, sandy and clay soils from Namaqualand to the Cape Peninsula, South Africa to Eastern Africa. It has purplish brown, greenish or whitish flowers in a crowded raceme on an erect to spreading stalk. Photos from Cameron McMaster taken in the Overberg and Eastern Cape.
Drimia haworthioides Baker is native to South Africa. The bulb scales are large and are open. These are not often exposed, but they are grown exposed for aesthetic. Each bulb scale can be removed and new plants can be grown from it. This species is popular with cacti and succulent growers. Photos 1 and 2 were taken by Nhu Nguyen. Photo 3-5 are from Nick de Rothschild and were discussed on the PBS list. Photo 5 show bulbils with start of leaf growth, and was taken 2 weeks after the flower photos.
Drimia macrantha (Baker) Baker known most recently as Thuranthos nocturnale R.A.Dyer is a southern Africa species with flowers that open late in the day. Photos taken by Mary Sue Ittner January 2010 at Waainek in the Eastern Cape on a cool (for summer) overcast day when the flowers were open earlier. It was difficult to photograph a whole plant all in focus so the photos show various features (buds, leaves, close-ups of flowers at different stages.)
Drimia media Jacq. ex Willd. is a winter-growing plant that blooms in autumn, the soft needle-shaped leaves appearing at the same time as the flowers. Photo taken by Christopher Whitehouse in the Phillipskop Mountain Reserve near Stanford.
Drimia minor (A.V.Duthie) Jessop is found on sandy flats in the Cape Province. It has terete erect leaves mostly dry at flowering and grows from 5 to 20 cm high. It has a few white to brownish small flowers and blooms from November to March. Photos by Andrew Harvie taken in the De Hoop Nature Reserve.
Drimia salteri (Compton) J.C.Manning & Goldblatt grows on sandy or stony soils in the southwest Cape. Plants grow to 25 cm. The white to brown or maroon flowers that are open at night are crowded in a slender raceme. It flowers late spring into summer. First photo taken by Cameron McMaster near Napier in the Overberg. Second photo by Christopher Whitehouse in the Phillipskop Mountain Reserve near Stanford.
Drimia sphaerocephala Baker is found in grassland in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. This species flowers before the leaves. Flowers are white, pink, or mauve with a short tube and tepals folded back. It flowers in summer. Photo from Cameron McMaster taken at Satansnek Pass.
Photos from Dylan Hannon, (identification somewhat tentative), from east of Greytown, Kwazulu-Natal. Blooms in late winter just before the leaves emerge. Bulb appears to be naturally epigeal.
Drimia zambesiaca (Baker) J.C. Manning & Goldblatt, comb. nov. Thuranthos zambesiacum (Baker), syn. Urginea zambesiaca Baker, is listed on the Kew checklist as distributed in Mozambique. The inflorescence appears in mid to late July with the flowers opening in succession up the stem about a month later. Seed pods ripen and shed seeds before the start of the rainy season and only then do the leaves emerge as the rains start. Bulb scales are easily separated and used to propagate new plants as done with Lilium. (See Lilium bulbs for an example). Photos were taken by Nicholas Wightman near Lilayi, Zambia.
Drimia index - Litanthus - Rhadamanthus - Tenicroa - Urginea