Eucomis bicolor at Mkhomazi

Interesting Eucomis bicolor flower colours are to be seen on this plant photographed in the Mkhomazi Wilderness Area during January.

The pale green tepals are white, creamy white or even faintly lilac. The neatly lined purple to maroon margins of the tepals are repeated on the uneven margins of the broad leafy bracts in the crown on top of the raceme. These bracts also show faint longitudinal lines on their blades, hardly visible in the sunlight here.

The six tapering-stemmed stamens and the style of the little flowers are purple in the photo. There are purple blotches on the scape (flower stalk) that reaches 50 cm in length. A rosette of large wavy-edged, strap-like leaves at the base of the stalk surrounds the scape.

Blooms are seen from midsummer to early autumn (www.kew.org; Manning, 2009).