Per Hendrik van Zijl, owner of Van Zijl Guesthouses, Nieuwoudtville Cape. A great stopover on your way to and from the Kgalagad. ...Read Morehttp://nieuwoudtville.co.za:
"Photos of Strumaria watermeyeri subs. watermeyeri taken today 20 April 2018. This has been a great find. Strumaria is a genus and a member of the family Amaryllidaceae. S watermeyeri is endemic to the Bokkeveld plateau and is very seldom seen. I have not seen this specie for at least 15 years.
This bulb has been named after a surveyor, E.B. Watermeyer, who laid out the town Nieuwoudtville in 1897. Gladiolus watermeyeri has also been named after him and he must have played a very important part in the establishment of the town. If anyone has more information on E.B. Watermeyer, please send me a message.
Flowering is brought about by early autumn rain. The flowering of this Strumaria, as well as the spectacular show of Brunsvigia at Nieuwoudtville, has been brought about by rain that fell on the 29th of March this year.
The source of the most recent information on the family Amaryllidaceae is a book that was published in 2017 titled 'The Amaryllidaceae of Southern Africa', written by Graham Duncan and illustrated most beautifully by Barbara Jeppe and her daughter Leigh Voigt.
Graham Duncan wrote abouth this bulb in the aforementioned publication and his description is most apt.
"S Watermeyeri subsp. watermeyeri is a beautiful dwarf species with long lasting glittering light pink flowers... The subspecie watermeyeri is a native to the Bokkeveld and Kobee mountains in the vicinity of Nieuwoudtville and Vanrhynsdorp. It occurs in shallow, sandy soil overlying sandstone rock sheets, in full sun. "
The flowers are very small and not all that visible when you walk in the veld at this time of the year. Brunsvigia bosmaniae appeared for the first time this year, having not flowered in 2015, 2016 and 2017. No rain - no flowers, and this will apply to the Strumaria as well.
Years ago in Cape Town, I grew this bulb in a pot. Beautiful. The problem is to legitimately obtain bulbs and or seed. Please, if you come across it in the veld, do not lift the bulbs.
Per Hendrik van Zijl, owner of Van Zijl Guesthouses, Nieuwoudtville Cape. A great stopover on your way to and from the Kgalagad.
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