Nerine appendiculata

A species little seen in cultivation or in the wild, where it is limited to Natal and the Eastern Cape, in damp areas.

In large specimens the flower stem can reach 60-80cm tall and may bear up to 20 flowers each 3cm long, of rich rose-pink with a darker midrib and base, giving the flower a beautiful appearance of having a dark centre. Each flower is held on a 5cm pedicel and this is tends towards the ball-headed structure of some Brunsvigia, indeed the seed-head can behave as a 'tumbleweed' (if you have a big, dry garden!).

Related to the even rarer N. gibsonii but with white stamen appendages, up to 1cm long and 2-4 teeth. These are 5 year old bulbs which have been grown hard. They are 3cm long and 1cm wide. This is raised from seed of a tall-stemmed, huge umbelled form originally found near Bethlehem in the Orange Free State.

In cultivation this likes to be evergreen, but may be deciduous if dried in winter. It is summer-growing, making its flowers in late summer or early autumn. A good fertile compost with good drainage and periodic inundation will suit this one well, but it is not difficult to grow, only to obtain.