HESSEA CINNAMOMEA

This member of the Amaryllidaceae family was given this name by Théophile Alexis Durand and Hans Schinz in 1894. It is found in the south-western corner of South Africa, growing in a well drained soil with quite some water and lots of sun. The bulb can grow to four centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to twelve centimetres in height. The flowers are from white to pink with a wine-red centre.

The name Hessea commemorates Christian Heinrich Friedrich Hesse, 1772–1837, a Lutheran minister who came to Cape Town from Hanover and grew succulents in his garden. The species name cinnamomea is a New Latin adjective meaning cinnamon-coloured This is a winter-grower, flowering after fire. Flowers by Helene Preston Ispotnature.org. They do get some water in the wild, photo by Stuart Hall Ispotnature.org. The white flowers by Colin Paterson-Jones, Biodiversityexplorer.info.