Brunsvigia josephinae Seeds - Freshly Harvested + FREE Seeds - NEW - Perennial Bulbous

Brunsvigia is a South African genus that belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family. They grow in semi-arid regions. There are about 20 species which produce amazing floral displays in autumn. The family name Amaryllidaceae is from the name Amaryllus who was a pretty shepherdess mentioned by Theocritus, Virgil and Ovid. Edmund Spenser used the name in 1595 for Alice, daughter of Sir John Spenser, later Countess of Derby and ancestress of the Princess of Wales. The genus name Brunsvigia was named in honour of the house of Brunswick. Most Brunsvigia species do well in pots which add to its ease of cultivation.

Brunsvigia josephinae is summer deciduous and grows in winter. The leaves only appear in winter and rapidly die back in summer before the flowers are borne in late summer to autumn. The plants including the inflorescence grow to about 65 cm in height. The bulbs are usually exposed, 200 mm in diameter and covered with dry, papery tunics. The 8-20 leaves are blueish-grey, strap-like, and about 60 x 20 cm. The 30-40 flowers are carried on open, widely spreading umbels, are dark red, and orange-yellow toward the base. The individual flowers are tubular, measuring 15mm long and produce nectar and attract birds to the garden, most notably sugarbirds. The fruiting body is a capsule 30-50 mm long, more or less cylindrical. The seeds are ovoid, reddish green, fleshy, 5-10 mm in diameter and are dispersed when the capsule ruptures as it is blown by the wind. This plant has by far the biggest bulb and inflorescence among the geophytes in South Africa. Its large striking umbels are easily visible in the veld when in bloom. Besides its value in ornamental horticulture, the dry bulb tunics are used as a wound dressing. It is known that young Xhosa men use the tunics as plasters after circumcision.