Blood Lily – Haemanthus coccineus
aka Ox Tongue Lily
The bright red flower heads of this gorgeous bulb emerge between February and April. They’re an unusual bulb, because the flower emerges before the leaves and is bright red – hence the common name. The leaves are just as distinctive. This plant is also known as the Ox-tongue lily because the leaves are big and look just like an ox tongue. They certainly create drama and intrigue in the garden.
I’ve also heard them referred to as Paintbrush Lilies
Clearing up a messy corner of the garden last week
I saw these bulbs had started to flower
They were given to me a few years ago
and I was told to sink the pot in the ground and forget
Seems they like to be crowded
Only drawback is I put the pot in a spot I rarely go to:(
As the info says the stems and flowers come up before the leaves
You can see there are three blooming on speckly stems
for a clearer view please click on the photos
Heres a leaf pushing itself out of the ground
– and they are very chunky –
looking just like an Ox’s Tongue so I’ve been told
It looks a bit rough round the edges
could be the result of not much water over the year
And here’s one of the flowers just opening out
a deeper red than this in real life
I’ve also heard them referred to as Paintbrush Lilies
For more flowers around the world
Still Waters 