Clivia caulescens is native to the Northern Province of South Africa, eastern Mpumalanga Province, and into Swaziland and the northern KwaZulu-Natal Province. The plant is characterized by its production in mature plants of a stalk or stem, which can lie on the surface of the ground, producing new shoots from occasional nodes.
This species normally blooms in the spring, but my plants have shown a disconcerting tendency to bloom occasionally at odd times in the summer and autumn. The pendant, tubular flowers are visited by sunbirds, which are probably the natural pollinators in habitat.
Clivia caulescens is distinguished from C. gardenii principally in that the stamens of caulescens are shorter than the perianth tube ("petals"), i.e., stamens are "inserted" in caulescens, while those of gardenii are longer than the perianth tube, i.e., are "excerted."
For information about this account, contact:
James E. Shields, jim@shieldsgardens.com
Last revised: 26 December 2003
© Copyright 2002, 2003 by James E. Shields. All rights reserved.