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Inviting Summer (82)
Miss_Piggy Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 892 W: 0 N: 1130] (3523)
Paintbrush lily / Scadoxus puniceus

A seemingly unending field of wildflowers always brings a smile to one's face. Leave them there for other people to enjoy as you enjoyed them. Remember, respect and protect wildflowers and their habitats, leave only footprints, and take only memories and photos so that future generations may enjoy our precious natural heritage. Please be sure to have a look at the workshop as well for a closer look of this magnificent flower.

Overview
The spectacular paintbrush lily, also known as "Blood lily" or "Snake lily" is one of South Africa's most striking bulbous plants. Growing naturally in shady areas in coastal bush, ravines and forest, it can be found in the Northern provinces, Free State, Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape; with its distribution extending to Tropical Africa. This species is quite variable and a number of different forms occur throughout its distribution range. There are 9 species of Scadoxus, of which 3 occur, in South Africa.

In spring and early summer this lily bears large dense heads up to 15cm across consisting of numerous smaller scarlet flowers with bright yellow anthers. The flower stalk may reach up to 50-60cm and is often spotted with purple near the base. The inflorescence is borne within bracts, which may be large and dark purplish red in colour. Sunbirds, weavers and other nectivorous birds feed on the nectar produced by the flowers.

The young inflorescence, protected by bracts and borne on the red/purple spotted flower stalk, appears first, followed by the stem, which bears 6-8 leaves. The leaves are glossy green, reach 30-40cm in length and have wavy margins. They are held erect clasping at the base to form a false stem which has red/purple speckled scale leaves at the base.

The large underground bulbs may be up to 10cm across and have a short thick stem at the base from which numerous fleshy roots arise. The plants are dormant in winter and use the large bulbs and roots to store moisture during this period. The fruits are fleshy, round, shiny red berries up to ±1cm in diameter. They bear single soft pearl-like seeds inside. Ripe berries are eaten by birds and monkeys.

As within many of the closely related amaryllis, this bulb is poisonous and deaths have been reported following the ingestion of the bulb. However this species is widely used in traditional medicine to treat coughs and gastric-intestinal problems. It has also traditionally been used as part of a medicine taken regularly during pregnancy to ensure a safe delivery.

The paintbrush lily was formerly known as Haemanthus magnificus. The name Scadoxus is derived from "doxus" meaning glory or splendour, and punicues means crimson, scarlet or purple. This beautiful, as well as many other wildflowers, are indiscriminately removed from the wild and sold when they are in flower. Source

RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE WHO LOVE NATURE DO NOT PICK WILDFLOWERS. For many of us a field of wildflowers is one of the most beautiful experiences we can encounter in Nature. There is a deep impulse we carry from childhood into adulthood to reach out and pick a flower in a beautiful butterfly-filled meadow or along a public wooded trail lined with spring beauties. Millions of people visit the public lands each year and if only a small fraction of them each picked a few flowers, soon there would be none for the rest of us to enjoy.

DO NOT PICK THEM. Almost all wildflowers are fragile and many wilt and perish soon after being picked. Over the years, the repercussions of wildflower picking by unthinking people go far beyond the loss of the flowers themselves. A critical chain of events is triggered for years to come once wildflowers are lost. We don't often realise it, but wildflowers support entire ecosystems for pollinators, birds, and small animals on a micro scale. Butterflies and other insects, small birds, and animals depend on seeds, nectar, and pollen for their food supply and life support system. In addition, some pollinators are not very mobile or have very small home ranges or depend on just one species of plant and die once their habitat has been destroyed. Most wildflowers when dug from their natural habitat do not survive after being transplanted. Source

I hope you enjoy looking at this photo as much as I took pleasure in taking it.
Altered Image #1

Miss_Piggy Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 892 W: 0 N: 1130] (3523)
Scadoxus puniceus close-up
Edited by:Miss_Piggy Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 892 W: 0 N: 1130] (3523)
A close-up of this beautiful wildflower, displaying the arrangement of different colours of the anthers. No wonder one of its common names is "Paintbrush lily". It surely looks as if a paintbrush was dipped into a few cans of multicoloured paint. I am sure it must be a feast for any insect, like this bee to gorge itself on the pollen and nectar contained inside the flower. At the time I took these photos there where no less than 4 different insects, including plenty of honeybees, enjoying what the flower had to offer to them.