Strumaria

Strumaria is a genus of small, deciduous, bulbous herbs. The bulbs range from 1 cm to 5 cm in diameter, covered in tunics resembling parchment to felt, the fibres extensible.

Two to six leaves are grown, usually after the usual autumn flowering. The leaf arrangement is either distichous or fan-like. The leaves are thread-like to strap-shaped or elliptic. The blades may be erect or prostrate and, in some species, hairy.

The inflorescence comprises up to 30 flowers in a hemispherical to compact head, from 15 mm to 100 mm in diameter. The solid scape is sometimes stiff, rarely spirally twisted and in some cases hairy. The base of the scape sometimes detaches with the fruit after flowering. There are two membranous spathe valves that start off covering the buds but persist inconspicuously later in flowering.

The free- and regular-tepalled, star-shaped to funnel-shaped flowers spread or cluster pendulously. Flower colour is white, pink or sometimes yellow. The stiff or lax pedicels are at least as long as the flowers.

The six stamens are erect or spreading, cohering with the style at the base or further up. The inferior ovary is nearly globose and sometimes hairy. The style is three-winged or swollen, the stigma three-parted.

Old flowers do not persist on the plants like Hessea flowers, a similar genus of the Amaryllidaceae family. Some species tend to self-fertilise. Most species flower in or around autumn.

The fruit is a nearly spherical, papery capsule, the ovoid seeds fleshy.

There are about 24 Strumaria species, all in southern Africa. Most species are found in the westerly, semi-arid, winter rain region, and most of them winter growing, summer dormant.

The plants do not need fire for flowering; eleven of the species occur in the fynbos. Several strumarias have small distribution ranges and some are currently deemed vulnerable or threatened.

The plant in picture is Strumaria truncata (Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org).