| Author: |
J. C. Manning & P. Goldblatt, 2000 |
| Family: |
HYACINTHACEAE* |
| Origin: |
Eswatini, South
Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe |
| Soil: |
Mix |
| Water:
|
Minimum - Medium |
| Sun: |
Minimum - Medium |
| Thickness: |
3-6
Millimetres |
| Height: |
4-6
Centimetres |
| Flower:
|
White |
| Propagate: |
Seeds/Bulbs |
| Names:
|
Fairy
Bell, Pilgrim's Rest |
| Synonyms: |
Litanthus pusillus, William Henry Harvey, 1844.
Drimia pusilla
Nicolaus Joseph von Jacquin. |
This tiny member of the
Hyacinthaceae family was given this name by John C.
Manning and Peter Goldblatt in 2000. It is found in southern
Africa from Namaqualand through Eswatini and Lesotho to Zimbabwe. It grows in rock cracks, in well
drained but rich soil with little to some water and little to some
sun. The bulb can grow to six millimetres, but most I have see was
not more than three millimetres in diameter. The one or even two narrow leaves
grow from four up to six centimetres, while the inflorescence reaches up to nine
centimetres with a white flower of two or three millimetres.
It is usually found in dense groups in the cracks underneath
boulders.
The genera name from Greek;
drimys; 'sharp' or 'cutting' for the pointed capsules. The
species name means 'one flower'.
It is said to be the world's
smallest flowering bulb, and I guess that could be right.
*)Accordantly to the latest taxonomic system; APG IV 2016, Hyacinthaceae
is
now part of
the Asparagaceae.
In the wild, it might
be a winter-grower, but it do fine at summer at my place.
|
