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
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A very interesting plant and interesting info about them. That last shot is gorgeous, and love to see the detail when enlarged. Thanks for sharing with Today's Flowers Cathy. Have a great week.
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Amazing colours :0)
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Oh my word! They are absolutely gorgeous. I just showed these to my mother in law and we're on a mission to the nursery to look for them. Would definitely make a great addition to our garden plants!
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That is most fascinating! The lily is gorgeous and the stem is so interesting!
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that is such an interesting flower, so different.Gill in Canada
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I have never heard of them before! They are bizarre looking! I almost thought you had made them up, and poked sticks into the pot!
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Hi Cathy, I noticed only this morning that mine are just emerging from the ground, I refer to them as Triffids. They look like some alien being. I once saw a whole paddock of them here in the Adelaide Hills en-mass, spectacular !!! They must have been there for many years. It will take the 4 I have a hundred years, at least, to multiply to a paddock full.
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This is a beautiful plant indeed. What a cheerful sight to see under the green in the spring.
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It is so nice to see the pretty colors and think of Spring, still too much snow here….:-) Hugs
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