Southern Hemisphere Spring Is In The Air
As the ground starts warming up slowly the Snake Lily ~ Scadoxus puniceus, a bulbous plant starts to show colour, it has some descriptive names of the Paintbrush lily, Snake lily (English), Rooikwas (Afrikaans), umgola (Zulu).
Scarlet spear shaped heads starting from the ground, the stem shoots up within a week with dazzling head above in splendid show of dense flowers with bright yellow anthers, some refer to the smaller flowers as scarlet, you decide to me they appear a startling array of orange.
Found in southern and eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, and South Africa.
- Myth that this plant does not transfer, during the winter this bulb gets moved, we started with one bulb and now have three patches in semi-shaded areas.
Another plant that keeps on giving in our coastal soil with not attention given except to thin the bulbs and transplant in months it is dormant, we started with one many years ago, noticed new bulbs when flowering, eventually decided to spread them around.
The name snake lily is apt since the stem often has black specs as can be seen on some of the bulbs, very similar to our Spotted bush snake.
Others will tell you it is the red tip resembling a snake lifting off the ground, I prefer the spear comparison, this bloom definitely signals the start of Spring, farmers start preparing to sow crops when these bulbous plants start showing it is said.
Sunbirds, weavers, bees love this in between season flower. Apparently birds and monkeys enjoy the berries, I have personally never witnessed this, I only have seen bees on the flowers.
Flowers form first, when close to stems full height it is followed with glossy green leaves forming at the base, only seven or eight leaves surround the plant reaching similar height (40 to 70 cm) as the flowers (approx 15 cm diameter).
When summer arrives, the flowers disappear transforming into bright red berries appearing approximately 1 cm big (I will keep an eye open this year since I cannot find photo's I took last season, or was it a couple ago), they are eye catching as well!
Mecinal Uses
Bulb is considered poinsous is is use to treat coughs, asthma, sprains and bruises. Leaves are applied to sores and ulcers to aid healing acting as an antiseptic. Personally I recommend never experimenting with anything unless you know what you are doing.
All photography is my own, resized for ease of uploading, using Canon PowerShot SX730 HS
Spring already, feels like yesterday I was looking forward to winter!
Thought for Today: "No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow" ~ African proverb
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What an unusual looking plant @joanstewart
Thick stemmed and very pretty on top.
Great shots.
Gaz
Like great big pom-poms, I believe some cut them for inside, I prefer to leave them for the wildlife outdoors. Have a wonderful day and thanks for the visit @cheese4ead
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Those are beautiful @joanstewart
Stunning flower you may find when out @fionasfavourites may be more scarlet than ours here.
Ah, that makes sense, Joan. I do recall having seen a few. Not this far inland, though.
A lovely post Lady Joan and I have not seen this one before.
We also have some plants here that I saw today with closed red buds on the ends.
I will have to see when they open what they are.
Blessings!
It will be interesting if it is the same or similar plant, so many flowers to see, so little time to find out what they are Stephen.
I love the warm vibrant colors of these beautiful flowers and thanks for all the info about them, as your spring starts our summer will soon be fading away
Personally I will be sad to see winter go, time is on the move again with certain plants telling you change is coming.
Winters here can be harsh so I am always glad to se edit go, in other places where it was milder I did not mind winter at all
Oh my, I have never seen Snake Lily before, so unique and colourful!!
Normally found under trees, this one I planted under a Cycas which affords semi-shaded area all year round @joelai
Do they need a lot of shades!
Semi-shaded area, it does enjoy some sun during the day.
Ah, lovely.
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OMG! I love these and I have magpie syndrome over them!
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They are pretty cool with a totally different look to other lily flowers.
I have never seen this flower. What a lovely vibrant color. I can understand what attracts the bees.
Nice capture!
Poor bee was wobbling between two flowers with weight of pollen stuck to it's legs @rem-steem
Yay! #savethebees 👌😍🐝
#savethebees if we don't we have massive problems coming down the line at us @spreadfire1, thanks for visiting.
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Wow @joansteward, these flowers are simply luscious! The color is amazing, so fun they multiply each year. Spring is always my favorite, each year sweet surprises show up, new beginnings. Such joy :) Great photos
I had to laugh when a local newspaper reported they cannot be replanted, proof is in the pudding... with more appearing year on year.
What an amazing plant, @joanstewart! I don't recall ever seeing one before, and they seem to be as useful as they are gorgeous! It's a gloomy & rainy Wednesday here in my corner of the world, so I really appreciate you sharing this bit of springtime loveliness!
Enjoy the rain, we need some Traci.
These blooms are tall, bold and super bee friendly, I am keeping an eye open for Sunbirds to visit with the abundance they offer. Traditional healers use them, I have never tried experimenting with plants in the garden except those I know.
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What an interesting plant! I have never seen one. Your photos are wonderful. Happy spring!
Looking forward to Spring but definitely not summer @melinda010100
Do you get ridicously hot and dry weather in summer?
Humidity is what gets to me down more Melinda, feels like you walk around with a hot wet blanket covering you all day. Needless to say I hide away under an air conditioner.
I don't do well in heat either. My MS kicks into high gear if I get overheated. Thank goodness for air-conditioning!
Being hot and sticky just sucks, never enjoyed it, our winters here is what attracted me to this region.
It's a very bright flower, but I'd be always looking out for snakes
It's a very bright
Flower, but I'd be always
Looking out for snakes
- wales
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
Snakes are pretty too!
Beautiful
Thanks.
Never seen anything like it and l love the colors. It is like fireworks bursting with orange and yellow from the sky.
Nice way to phrase it fireworks fits aptly as a description @watersnake101
Oh, she is a bit on the unusual side, Joan! I love the pops of color that just show up out of nowhere!
I must admit that I have never seen these, but, I would love to get my hands on some!! Have a great day, Joan~
!tip
You can't help but notice them when they shoot up and flower, very bright and elegant Denise.
Thanks for the @tipu appreciated @dswigle
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🎁 Hi @joanstewart! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!What an unique looking plant, Joan. Love the orange color.
Bursting with colour, very dramatic plant.
I've fallen in love with this flower, I've never seen it before, and the pictures are great!
Tall stem makes it stand out no matter where it is planted, very capturing flower.
What beautiful photos you snapped @joanstewart I like the firery blooms. 💕
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They grow wild in unusual places as well Bruni.
Amazing pictures, @joanstewart. That's neat that you know the name of the plant in three languages! I'm currently reading "Born a Crime," by Trevor Noah, and am gaining some understanding of the history of South Africa. (Great book, by the way!)
His story tells a little about the past from his point of view, I enjoyed his early shows when he still lived over here. Like most South Africans we do learn more than one language with 13 available in the country.
The flowers are eye-capturing you never miss them when they come into bloom.
Oh my.... These were sooooo beautifully taken. I was mesmerised by the beauty of snake lily now... =) thank you for sharing. 🙂
Very striking flower, thanks for visiting.
So pleased to have seen this post in the PHC's Daily Member Suggestions Joan.
Such a visual striking and unique plant. I've never seen these flowers before and love their vibrant colour ~ So beautifully captured by you now.
Our Spring has gone in hiding for a few days ~ They say it will rain on and off all week which is great as it's so badly needed. It has been like living in paradise in the last few weeks in Sydney with all the blossoms and freesias in the suburbs. But the joy of being with the wildflowers is something else again. You have reminded me to 'go bush' ASAP while the flowers are emerging. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
A good walk about sounds like a good idea, we desperately need rain, keeps promising but nothing happening.
Early Spring flowers popping up everywhere but lawns are still brown and crunchy underfoot. Enjoy your rain if it arrives.