Clivia Terminology

Understanding and using consistent terminology is essential when describing plants for registration or comparison at shows.

(Afrikaans terms are shown in brackets.)

The Reproductive System


The flowering branch system in Clivia is called an inflorescence (bloeiwyse).

In Clivia, this type of inflorescence is known as an umbel (skerm). It consists of an elongated, leafless stalk called the scape or peduncle (bloeisteel), which grows from one of the leaf axils and supports the cluster of flowers.


Each flower is attached to the central axis by a short flower stalk or pedicel (blomsteel).

At the base of the flower lies the ovary (vrugbeginsel), below the perianth (periant), which is made up of six tepals (perigoonblare)—three outer and three inner segments.


Inside the perianth are six stamens (meeldrade), each with an anther (helmknop) containing pollen, supported by a filament (helmdraad).

At the flower’s centre sits the stigma (stempel) and style (styl), which are attached to the ovary. Together, they form the pistil (stamper).


The ovary has three chambers or locules (vrughokke), each containing about 8–10 ovules (saadknoppe).

After pollination and fertilisation, each fertilised ovule develops into a seed, and the ovary wall enlarges to form the succulent fruit (vrug).


The Clivia fruit is a berry (besvrug or bessie), not a pod. A berry can contain between one and fifteen seeds, depending on how many ovules were fertilised. Some may abort early, resulting in fewer seeds. Each seed is enclosed by a thin membranous layer, part of the fruit’s inner wall (endocarp).


  • The fruit wall consists of three layers:
  • Exocarp (eksokarp) — the pigmented outer layer
  • Mesocarp (mesokarp) — the fleshy middle layer
  • Endocarp (endokarp) — the inner membranous layer


Note: The Clivia fruit is not a pod or seed pod. Pods are fruits of peas, beans, and other legumes. Clivia produces a berry that contains the seeds.


The Vegetative Parts


The vegetative growth of a Clivia plant begins with the germinating seed.

Clivia seeds are naked (they lack a seed coat) and recalcitrant (onortodoks), meaning they germinate easily but cannot be dried or stored for long periods.


Each seed consists of:


  • Endosperm (kiemwit) — the nutrient tissue
  • Embryo (embrio), which includes:
  • Cotyledon (saadlob)
  • Plumule (pluimpie) — the developing shoot
  • Radicle (kiemwortel or radikula) — the first root


The cotyledon elongates during germination, pushing out the plumule and radicle. The radicle forms the primary root (primêre wortel), which produces fine root hairs (wortelhare) near its tip. This primary root is soon replaced by adventitious roots (bywortels) that grow from the stem nodes.


At the junction between the plumule and the primary root lies the first node (knoop), where the cotyledonary sheath (saadlobskede) attaches. The cotyledon functions as a haustorium (suigorgaan), absorbing nutrients from the endosperm.


The first true leaf (b1) emerges from the apical meristem (apikale meristeem). It has a short sheath (blaarskede) and a small lamina (blaarskyf). In orange and red Clivias, this sheath is often pigmented.


References


Figure 2 shows a young Clivia miniata seedling (1) and a longitudinal section of a slightly older seedling (2). Adapted from R. Wettstein (1935), Handbuch der Systematischen Botanik.


Text by: Hannes Robbertse