Clivia miniata

Original description:

Lindley, J. (1854). New Plants Vallota Miniata . The Gardener’s Chronicle 8: 119.

Regel, E. (1864). Clivia miniata Lindl. Amaryllideae . Gartenflora 14: 131, t.434.

Distribution:

From Morgan’s Bay in the Eastern Cape Province up into northern KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland.

Habitat:

Always found under tree cover in forests growing in leaf mould on the forest floor, and between boulders on slopes. Only found where the soil is rich with humus and well-drained.

Plant size:

Clivia miniata normally occurs as clumps with a height of around 80 cm. The stem is a compact rhizome which only rarely becomes aerial when plants are very old. They sucker freely and can form large clumps if left undisturbed.

Leaves:

Usually not more than 50 mm wide in natural populations, although it is rarely up to 90 mm. Usually about 1 meter in length, leaves have been measured that reached 1,84 m.

Flowers:

In the wild flower shapes vary from small and open with narrow tepals to large and trumpet-shaped with broad overlapping tepals. The inner tepals are usually broader than the outer tepals. The normal colour of the flowers is orange with a yellowish-white throat, although a colour range from whitish yellow through pale oranges, dark orange and approaching red is known. The very light and very dark colours are, however, rare. The flowers are borne in an umbel supported by a peduncle which clears the leaves, and the umbels can have in excess of 40 flowers, although 20 is more usual.

Berries:

The seeds are carried in berries which can have from 1 to more than 20 seeds in a berry, although less than 10 is the norm.