Plant of the Month - July 2023

Veltheimia bracteata
Family: Hyacinthaceae

Common name(s): Forest lily, forest sand – lily, lemon flame, winter red hot poker, sand onion (Eng.); sandui, sandlelie (Afr.).

Synonyms: Veltheimia undulata and Veltheimia viridifolia.

Leaves and flowers of Veltheimia bracteata.
 

Description: Veltheimia bracteate is a winter growing deciduous bulbous plant indigenous to South Africa. The leaves die back in summer and the new leaves appearing in late summer to autumn, after a short period of dormancy. In frost-free regions that have rainfall throughout the year, Veltheimia bracteata is almost evergreen. It has a moderate to quick pace of growth. The inflorescence consists of a dense raceme of tubular blooms that are held on a tall stalk that can grow up to 600 mm in height. Plants are pollinated by birds and bees.
Leaves: The handsome glossy green, fleshy leaves are broadly strap-shaped with crisped or wavy margins and form an approximately 250 mm high by 350 mm wide rosette at the base of the flower stem.
Flowers, fruits and seeds: The colour of the flowers is variable and can be pale pink, dusky pink, orange pink and is occasionally greenish yellow. The flowers are held upright when in tight bud and are pendent when open. The tips of the flowers are sometimes green or spotted with greenish yellow. It has the pear shaped, with approximately 6 mm long black seeds produced in large, membranous, inflated capsules which are ready for harvesting when the capsules are dry and papery, usually in mid-summer.
Flowering time: Its flowers during late winter to spring from July to October and each flowerhead lasts about a month.
Origin: Veltheimia bracteata can be found growing naturally in the Eastern Cape woodlands and coastal scrub. It is native to the south-eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa.
Uses: The Veltheimia bracteata is pollinated by birds. So, this plant attracts a host of delightful members of the avian species to visit your garden and grace it with song and colour. It has no confirmed medicinal uses, despite its having been used as a purgative in the 17th century by those settling in South Africa.
Propagation: Offsets, leaf cuttings and seed are all methods of propagation. In the summer, when the foliage has fallen, offsets should be cut and quickly replanted 30 to 40 mm deep. To get rid of the offsets from the parent bulb when the bulbs are cultivated in pots, they can be lifted every two to three years. A well-established plant's leaf can be taken off, placed in a sandy soil mixture and bulblets will grow at the leaf base. Seed propagation is quite effective where seed can be sown 10 cm deep minimal, trays in the fall, thinly 3 to 4 mm deep to give the seedlings room to grow. River sand, industrial sand and fine compost, fine bark and loam are suggested as the sowing mediums. Following germination, plants should be fed diluted liquid fertilizer every two weeks and germination takes two to three weeks.
 

References:

1. Ault, J.R., 1996. In vitro rooting and greenhouse acclimatization of Veltheimia bracteata and V. capensis shoots. HortScience, 31(7) :1229-1230.
2. Duncan, G.D., 198 Veltheimia bracteata Lemon Flame introducing the yellow form. Veld & Flora, 68(3) :72-74.
3.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veltheimia_bracteata. Accessed 27 June 2023.
4.  https://pza.sanbi.org/veltheimia-bracteata. Accessed 28 June 2023.
5. https://www.tropicalbritain.co.uk/south-africa/veltheimia-bracteata.html. Accessed 28 June 2023.
6. Taylor, J.L.S. and Van Staden, J., 1997. In vitro propagation of Veltheimia bracteata and V. bracteata ‘Lemon Flame’. South African Journal of Botany, 63(3): 159-161.