The genus Haemanthus in the Amaryllis Family (Amaryllidaceae) is endemic to southern Africa, essentially only South Africa and southern Namibia. They are in the tribe Haemantheae, and Haemanthus is very closely related to Scadoxus and less closely to Clivia and Gethyllis, all in the same tribe.

The plants form bulbs which may grow at the surface of the soil or slightly below the surface. Most of the species grow in areas having rainfall only in winter and they grow in that season. The rest are from the much larger summer rainfall area, and they grow in summer. All are deciduous when dormant except for three evergreen species.

In the older literature, the plants of the genus Scadoxus were included under Haemanthus. For the criteria used to distinguish Scadoxus from Haemanthus, see our Scadoxus page.

The flowers are borne in an umbel which may or may not be enclosed by colored upright bracts called spathe valves. The individual florets are star-like, actinomorphic. The fruits are large berries which may be green, pink, orange or red when ripe. Within the thin layer of flesh is the large turgid white or green seed. Haemanthus seeds, like most fleshy amaryllid seeds, undergo no dormant period. Indeed they cannot be forced into dormancy, and will germinate even lying bare and dry on a tabletop. They can sometimes be kept in a refrigerator for a few months and still remain ungerminated but viable.

The hardiest Haemanthus in cultivation is the evergreen species Haemanthus albiflos. Native to KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Provinces of the Republic of South Africa, this plant grows in areas having summer rainfall and in areas with year-round rain.

The outline below is only a partial list of the known species of Haemanthus, many of which are very rare in cultivation. Some of the species of Haemanthus include the following:

albiflos -- found over a wide area from the southern Cape region through KwaZulu-Natal Province

    Flowers white

    Blooms in autumn

    Evergreen, usually having four leaves at a time, receives year-round rainfall in habitat

    Closely related to H. deformis and H. pauculifolius

    Very easy to grow, hardy outdoors in Southern California     

    

amarylloides -- found in Namaqualand in the Western Cape Province

    Bloom in late summer to late autumn

    Inflorescence pale to deep pink, spreading

    Leaves 2 or 3, variable in form and posture

    Very variable; there are at least three subspecies

    Very slow growing for me, not vigorous in the greenhouse

    

barkerae -- found in the Bokkeveld Mountains of the Western Cape Province

    
     © Copyright by James E. Shields.
    All rights reserved.

    Deciduous, winter growing

    Leave up to ca. 10 inches long and narrow, ca. 1 inch wide.

    Flowers in late summer - early autumn

    Inflorescence pale pink to rose

    

canaliculatus -- found only in a very small area in the Western Cape near Betty's Bay.

    Bloom in late summer to late autumn

    Inflorescence bright red or occasionally pinkish; bracts 5 to 7, lanceolate, somewhat spreading

    Leaves 2 or 3, narrow and channeled ("canaliculate"), succulent, recurved; shiny green with dark green or reddish bars. Leaves are unique in the genus, occasionally last for 2 years.

    Found only under heavy brush

    Requires year-round moisture, unlike almost all other species of Haemanthus.

    

carneus -- found in a few very widely scattered sites in Free State, in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, and in the Eastern Cape Province

    Blooms in late summer to autumn

    Deciduous, with leaves appearing in autumn and persisting until the following spring or early summer

    Very similar to H. humilis but with the stamens always "included" (i.e., filaments shorter than the perianth segments)

    

coccineus -- found widely distributed in the winter-rainfall area of South Africa, in the Western Cape Province and north into Namibia, and east beyond Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province.

    

© Copyright 2002 by Doug Westfall; all rights reserved. Reproduced by permission.

© Copyright 2013 by James E. Shields. All rights reserved.

    Bloom in late summer to early autumn

    Inflorescence coral to scarlet, spathe valves erect

    Deciduous, winter growing but sometimes leafs out in late summer

    Leaves two or rarely three, with red or dark green striations on the undersides at the base; strap-like to elliptical in shape, never wider than they are long; recurving, only rarely prostrate

    Vigorous, hardy, excellent greenhouse plant, although slow to flower from seed

    

crispus -- found in Namaqualand in the Northern Cape Province

    Bloom in autumn, but up to a month earlier in cultivation

    Scape is short

    Inflorescence red with broad, blunt spathe valves

    Deciduous, winter growing

    Leaves canaliculate, but otherwise vary greatly, from very narrow to wide, green to glaucous, margins strongly undulate; 11 to 20 cm (ca. 5 to 8 inches) long, 7 to 30 mm (ca. 5/16 to 1¼ inch) wide

    Bulb tunics are unusual for winter-rainfall Haemanthus, not being distichous but dying down horizontally

    

dasyphyllus -- Known only from two areas, Langberg and Kubiskouberg of the Western Mountain Karoo area.

    

    Flowers coral pink to scarlet

    Bracts oblong, coral pink to scarlet

    Winter growing, deciduous

    Flowers before the leaves in autumn

     Leaves 1 or 2, lanceolate, light green, covered on both surfaces with long, soft white hairs

    

© Copyright 2003 by James E. Shields. All rights reserved.

© Copyright 2013 by James E. Shields.
All rights reserved.

    

deformis -- found in local populations in the midlands and coastal regions of KwaZulu-Natal and south into the Transkai region of the Eastern Cape Province

    Flowers white

    Blooms in autumn to spring

    Evergeen or nearly so

    Grows in heavy shade. Seems to sunburn in even dappled shade.

    Closely related to H. albiflos and H. pauculifolius

    

humilis

    

ssp. humilis -- found over the karroid regions, the Eastern Cape Province, the Free State, and in the western Transvaal.

 

The usual form of Haemanthus humilis is this one which grows on steep rocky slopes and cliffs in the Cathcart distict.

© Copyright 2002 by Cameron McMaster; all rights reserved. Reproduced by permission.

    Flowers pink to white

    Blooms in Summer

    Peduncle usually hairless

    Deciduous, leaves appearing with the flowers in mid- or late summer

    Stamens always "exserted" (i.e., filaments longer than the perianth segments)

    Fruit and seeds:

    

     Cameron and Rhoda McMaster have contributed some fascinating observations of their own on humilis and carneus (click More).

    

ssp. hirsutus -- found in the Transvaal highveld, the Drakensberg Escarpment, and into the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal

 

The flowers are snow-white. For a close up of the leaf and stalk, click the image at left.

© Copyright 2002 by James E. Shields.
All rights reserved.

    Flowers pink to white

    Blooms in Spring and Summer

    Peduncle usually pubescent (covered with fine hairs)

    Deciduous, leaves appearing with the flowers

    Stamens always "exserted" (i.e., filaments longer than the perianth segments)

    Peduncle is hairy, leaves may be hairy all over or only along the margins

    
    For more discussion of ssp. hirsutus:

    H. nelsonii is a synonym of H. humilis hirsutus

    The plant pictured above is the mother of some hybrids I made:

    

lanceifolius -- from Namaqualand; winter-growing

Pink Form

White Form

    Small bulbs, up to 2 inches in diameter (50 mm).

    Leaves ca. 2, flat to the ground

    Blooms in autumn. Inflorescence pale pink to white.

    Deciduous, leaves after blooms in autumn.

    

montanus -- eastern regions of southern Africa, from King William's Town, Eastern Cape Province, in the south to the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, and the Transvaal highveld.

    Blooms in spring to early summer; inflorescence white, spreading; spathe valves membranous, becoming reflexed

    Peduncle smooth and hairless

    Deciduous, with leaves appearing in early summer and dying back in winter

    Light green leaves two, strap-like, held erect

    Shares much of the same geographic range as H. humilis

    Seeds bright green, opaque, enclosed only in a thin semi-transparent membrane. Cf. tristis.

    This species appears to me to be relatively easy in cultivation, but slow growing from seed

    

namaquensis -- found in northern Namaqualand in the Northern Cape Province and in southern Namibia

 

This is the first plant of H. namaquensis that I have seen bloom. I grew it from seed provided by Silverhill Seeds and planted here in 1997. The bulb is growing in a 9-in diameter by 9 inches deep pot in a very gritty mix. The inflorescence is about 7.5 inches tall, of which ca. 2.5 inches is the umbel. The leaves on this particular specimen do not have the wavy edges typical of most namaquensis. The picture was taken on the peak day of the bloom, Aug. 31st.

© Copyright 2009 by James E. Shields
All rights reserved.
    
© Copyright 2013 by James E. Shields. All rights reserved.

    Blooms in autumn, occasionally in late summer; said to bloom only rarely in cultivation

    Inflorescence is bright scarlet, compressed

    Deciduous, winter growing

    Leaves are green to glaucous, wavy margins; 17 to 45 cm (ca. 7 to 18 inches) long, 45 to 110 mm (1¾ to 4½ inches) wide

    Somewhat related to H. crispus

    

nortieri -- found only in the Nardouwsberge in the Western Cape Province

Blooms in autumn

Bracts deep rose-red and leathery; flowers light scarlet

Deciduous, winter growing

Leaves are solitary, erect, obovate to spathulate (widest at middle, narrow at base), dull green with some red near the base. The leaf is sticky on the surface, and debris from the soil sticks to it, particularly when the leaf is new. While the single erect leaf is indicative of nortieri, the sticky surface appears to be definitive for this species.

Extremely slow-growing from seed; Graham Duncan had one seedling go 19 years before it finally bloomed
© Copyright 2013 by James E. Shields.
All rights reserved.

    

pauculifolius -- found only on the Transvaal Drakensberg Escarpment

    Flowers white

    Evergreen or nearly so

    Leaves single or at most two; more or less hairy

    Closely related to H. albiflos

     For more details about pauculifolius:

pubescens -- found in the Western Cape province

    Blooms in autumn

    Winter growing

    Inflorescence red, rarely pink

    Spathe valves 4 or 5 or more, fleshy; pointed at the tips; longer than the flowers

    Leaves 2 or 3, recurving or flat on the ground

    Difficult for me in the greenhouse, but bloom reliably once they mature

    There are three subspecies

• arenicolus
  
• leipoldtii
• pubescens
  

    

sanguineus -- found in the Western Cape Province and as far east as Port Elizabeth

    Blooms in late summer to autumn

    Inflorescence red to wine-red, or pink, compressed laterally to give a paint-brush appearance

    Deciduous, winter growing

    Leaves two, rough and leathery, plain light green on the underside or rarely lightly spotted with red; lying pressed to the ground, those of coastal populations are wider than they are long

    

tristis -- Found in the Western Cape province, in the southeastern Tanqua Karoo; extremely localized.

    Blooms in autumn

    Flowers and spathe valves white fading to pink.

    Winter-growing; closely related to barkerae.

    Bulb quite small, growing deep (2 to 3 inches below surface).

    Leaves usually 2, narrow and channeled; finely edged red but without the bars of red or dark green found in barkerae; glabrous, never hairy.

    Seeds leathery green, enclosed in a rigid shell or pod. Quite different from seeds of barkarae and most other winter-rainfall species of Haemanthus. Cf. montanus.

    Warning: Extremely sensitive to moisture during dormant season.

    

unifoliatus -- Found in the Western or Northern Cape province, along the Namaqualand Escarpment

    

    Blooms in autumn

    Flowers and spathe valves scarlet.

    Winter-growing

    One leaf, sometimes 2, obovate (narrow at base), hairy.
     © Copyright 2012 by James E. Shields
     All rights reserved.

     © Copyright 2013 by James E. Shields
     All rights reserved.

    

Culture

I am probably not very well qualified to advise anyone on how to grow Haemanthus. Over the years, I have killed many more than I have kept. In particular, immature seedling bulbs are very hard to keep alive during their dormant periods.

In general they should be potted in a very gritty mix. They need a healthy root system to grow and flower, so do not under-pot them. Instead, water very carefully when in active growth and not at all during dormancy.

They will need to be fed from time to time. Feeding with a very dilute solution of a water-soluble fertilizer at each watering may be advantageous. I recommend using an N-P-K formula of 20-5-15, or 20-10-20 if necessary, and always one with micronutrients.

Small seedling bulbs, up to two or three years old, should be given a little water occasionally while in dormant condition. Otherwise they can die from desiccation. Note also that small seedling bulbs very much resent being disturbed, so never repot a seedling bulb during its first three or four growing seasons. It is far better to start each seed in its own 4- or 5-inch pot, and to leave it in that pot, with the roots completely undisturbed, for as many years as possible. Haemanthus grown from seed can take anywhere from 4 years to 9 or more years to bloom.

When ready to repot a bulb of Haemanthus, try to do this just at the start of the plant's growing season. For the winter-growing species, this is going to be in late July or in August in the Northern Hemisaphere. Be careful to disturb the roots as little as possible when repotting.

Jim Shields

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Rhoda and Cameron McMaster for their comments and pictures and to Doug Westfall for the great picture of H. coccineus.

Other Sources of Information

The Genus Haemanthus, Deirdre Snijman, National Botanic Gardens of South Africa, Claremont, (1984).
"Haemanthus pauculifolius. A new species of Haemanthus (Amaryllidaceae) from the eastern Transvaal Escarpment, South Africa", by D.A. Snijman and A.E. van Wyk. So. African J. Botany, vol. 59, No. 2, pp. 247-250 (1993).
Bulbous Plants of Southern Africa, Neil du Plessis and Graham Duncan, Tafelberg Pub. Ltd., Cape Town (1989).
Bulbs for Warm Climates, Thad M. Howard, University of Texas Press, Austin (2001).
Bulbs, Revised Edition, John E. Bryan, Timber Press, Portland (2002).
Cape Bulbs, by Richard L. Doutt, Timber Press, Portland (1994).
RHS Manual of Bulbs, John Bryan and Mark Griffiths, Eds., Timber Press, Portland (1995).
"Hybrids in Haemanthus and Scadoxus (Amaryllidaceae)," J.C. David, Hanburyana, vol. 1, pp. 9-13 (2006).
The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs, John Manning, Peter Goldblatt, and Dee Snijman, Timber Press, Portland (2002).