Haemanthus coccineus

Haemanthus coccineus is commonly called the paintbrush lily, April fool or sometimes spotted bloodlily, in Afrikaans the misryblom (manure carting flower), among many other names. Red colouring in nature has drawn South Africans into much name giving, the colour mostly rare and conspicuous in our veld. The plant is a long-living, bulbous perennial or geophyte, deciduous, and winter growing. In flower it reaches heights up to 20 cm.

Spectacular scarlet flowerheads are produced on fleshy, erect stalks, the flowers surrounded by leathery bracts. Flowering happens at the end of summer or in autumn. Flower colour is sometimes coral-pink and rarely white.

After the blooming, two or three tongue-shaped leaves appear that last through winter, the plant's growing season. These leaves, varying in width, usually lie flat on the ground but may be semi-erect. Red leaf spots are sometimes present, as well as a red lower leaf surface. The leaves occasionally appear concurrently with the flower stalk.

The species grows in the Western Cape and to a lesser extent spreading coastally into the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape, slightly into southern Namibia, near the coast.

The habitat is rocky slopes and coastal scrub, often forming large clumps. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Duncan, et al, 2016; Manning, 2009; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).