Bulbine frutescens

Bulbine frutescens is a species of flowering plant in the genus Bulbine, native to southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland).[2][3]

Bulbine frutescens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Genus: Bulbine
Species:
B. frutescens
Binomial name
Bulbine frutescens
(L.) Willd.[1]

Description
The typical shrubby growth of Bulbine frutescens (yellow-flowered form).

This variable species grows as a small shrub, with short, low stems that produce roots down towards the ground, and slender, erect, succulent, grey-green leaves.

The flowers appear throughout the summer, on a 30 cm erect inflorescence. The flowers can be orange, yellow or white. Like all Bulbine species, the stamens are distinctively tufted ("bearded").

Growth

Bulbine frutescens is mostly dormant in summer, blooming in the spring, and then again in autumn although somewhat less. It can be propagated easily by stem cuttings. The cuttings can be planted immediately and kept in a shady area. They do not need any special attention or treatment, and build strong roots in a couple of months.

Name

Bulbine comes from the Greek word bolbine, a general word for a bulbous plant, but particularly Ornithogalum.[4] The name is misleading, as plants do not have a bulbous base.

References
  1. Willd., Enum. Pl.: 372 (1809).
  2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  4. Hyam, R. & Pankhurst, R.J. (1995), Plants and their names : a concise dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-866189-4, p. 75


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