''Brunsvigia josephinae'', commonly called Josephine's lily or candelabra lily, is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

species of ''

Brunsvigia ''Brunsvigia'' is a genus of African flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. It contains about 20 species native to southeastern and southern Africa from Tanzania to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. Descrip ...

'' originating from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It is marked by deep pink to red flowerheads which are about 12 to 15 inches long. It flourishes in medium humidity, at temperatures between 50 and 75 °F (10 to 24 °C). Flowering stems appear from the bulbs in March and April, and the leaves develop later. These bulbs can take 12 years to settle before they flower, but they flower annually once established. It is available from commercial sources. ''B. josephinae'' is about 0.65 m tall when flowering. Its bulbs are some 200 mm in diameter and usually exposed. Leaves appear only in winter; they are blueish grey and typically range from 8-20 leaves per plant. Dark red, tubular flowers appear in late summer to autumn; they are 15 mm long atop stalks approximately 650 mm long, with 30-40 flowers per plant. Plants may take as long as 14 years to mature from seeds. The lily was named for

Joséphine de Beauharnais Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Count ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's empress.

References

External links

PlantZAfrica article on Brunsvigia josephinae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4979469 Amaryllidoideae