Clivia nobilis, a plant with drooping flowers

If you stroll through the damp undergrowth of South Africa's Cape Province, you may come across a plant with narrow, drooping flowers: Clivia nobilis. This variety of the Amaryllidaceae family offers a colorful bloom that can last for several months.

A bushy perennial, Clivia nobilis grows to no more than 30 cm in height and 45 cm in spread.

The plant has thick, white roots. These serve as a reserve during periods of drought.

The dark-green leaves are fan-shaped and intertwined. Thick and strap-shaped, they have a tapered apex and pronounced midrib.

In its native southern hemisphere, the plant flowers between September and February. In the northern hemisphere, it blooms in spring and summer. A 30-centimetre flowering spike blooms at the heart of the foliage. It supports umbels of 10 to 30 flowers. While the flowers of Clivia miniata are trumpet-shaped, those of Clivia nobilis are narrow and drooping. Red or orange-red, they are tinged with green at the tip.

The plant then produces fleshy, ovoid berries ranging in color from light green to purple.

Clivia nobilis is toxic. Its leaves, like its roots, contain alkaloids. The plant causes digestive problems when ingested and skin irritation when in contact with the skin.