Haemanthus humilis

This plant presenting an ageing umbel of small flowers is thought to be Haemanthus humilis. It has broad, rounded green leaves with slightly pointed tips as the inflorescence is waning. The species grows leaves concurrently with flowers or shortly after flowering. A third leaf is usually seen only on plants in cultivation.

The peduncle is curved, reddish and green and thickly fleshy. The old, green-pedicelled flowers have pale lilac to whitish perianths, the yellow anthers exserted. The spathe bracts are mainly obscured by the flowers.

The H. humilis distribution range covers many parts of South Africa. These plants are recorded in all nine provinces and in some neighbouring countries. Subsp. humilis is more widespread than subsp. hirsutus, which is restricted to the east of the country.

The habitat is wide-ranging and diverse, as is to be expected from plants adapted in so many places. It may be found in grassland, scrub, rocky ridges and more. The habitat populations of both subspecies are deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Williamson, 2010; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; Wikipedia; http://redlist.sanbi.org).