Oribi Gorge

Description

A  red and white selection indigenous to KZN, named by Ammie Grobler. This refers to a group of plants. Ammie Grobler had been given 27 plants by a Mrs Nielsen, a teacher from the farm Gibraltar in Oribi Gorge, one of the habitat areas where C miniata grow sympatrically with C robusta. He had been holidaying down at the South Coast of Natal and struck up a conversation with a local teacher who he told he had retired and was going to cultivate Clivia. She said he should collect some from her farm on his return trip home. This he did and put into the car as many plants as he could possibly find space for. It is from the same person and collection that Mick Dower got his ‘Oribi Gorge Yellow’ which he swapped for the then rare golden form of Strelizia regina, now called 'Mandela's Gold'. Ammie Grobler had started producing green based seedlings from some clones. He also named certain of the select clones as ‘King’, ‘Queen’, ‘Lady of Oribi Gorge’ and from the collection bred named plants such as ‘Tersia’, ‘Amersia’  and ‘Carol’. The seedlings of the Oribi Gorge characteristically have a distinct purple to maroon base and hence are called ‘Maroons’ by some. Many of the plants flowers have a fragrance.

Photographs

• Roger Fisher
• Roger Fisher
• Roger Fisher