STRUMARIA DISCIFERA

This member of the Amaryllidaceae family was given this name by Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf Marloth in 1992. It is found in Vanrhynsdorpand Nieuwoudtville eastwards to Calvinia and the Roggeveld escarpment in the mid-western of South Africa, growing in a heavy clay soil with some water and lots of sun. The bulb can grow from one to two centimetres in diameter, the entire plant from two to fifteen centimetres in height. The flowers are white with a olive-green or pink stripe, smelling of baby powder!

The genera name from Latin, struma; 'a cushion-shaped swelling', and - aria which relates to 'possessing', a name that refers to the swollen base of the style. The species name from Latin; disciform; 'round or oval in shape' for discoid swelling at the base of the style. This is a winter-grower, blooming in autumn. Flowers by H.G. Robertson, Iziko. The flower of S. d. bulbifera from Cotswoldgardenflowers.co.uk.