Bulbous and beautiful

On a recent trip to a friend’s farm in Kokstad, KZN, I came across some interesting plants… Here is the first of a few… Its ‘root’ is a large bulb that protrudes from the ground and I luckily caught it while flowering… It’s quite strange, isn’t it?

Bulbous n' beautafil 1
Bulbous n’ beautiful 1
Bulbous n' beautifil 2
Bulbous n’ beautiful 2

11 thoughts on “Bulbous and beautiful”

  1. It will be part of the Amaryllidaceae family, same as the paintbrush lily you posted about earlier. I don’t think it normally protrudes so much out the ground, it possibly has been left high and dry after some erosion. It survives fire so to see as well.

    Nice Picture!

  2. Just to clarify, the ‘stem’ is actually that bulbous bulb, the roots are beneath the stem, and the flowers and leaves emerge from the stem.

  3. Whoa now, Mol-d, that’s Boophane disticha, otherwise known as the Poison Bulb or Seerooglelie and I’d advise anyone who sees one to stay well away from the flowers – breathing in the pollen alone can cause headaches, dizzyness, nausea and inflammation of the eyes (thus its name). This is a powerful muti plant, and should not be messed with. Sangoma material.

    The leaves grow into a distinctive fan shape, usually burnt off in veld fires, subsequent to which the flower head comes into bloom, as above.
    It causes remarkable hallucinations when ingested but I would strongly advise against self-administration.

    I advise anyone handling this bulb to wear gloves and keep away from children. If you have kids, do not plant this in your garden.

    (jury still out on the nomenclature: some sources list it as Boophane, others Boophone.)

  4. Yes, its a Boophane, or commonly known as a sore-eyes plant.

    Not the ideal plant to use in flower arranging…

    Travis, you sound like an expert on its properties?

  5. wow! cool plant! way more interesting than i first thought… how come you know so much, trav? self-administration? πŸ˜‰

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