The Chasmanthe of South Africa

From the Greek, Chasme, gaping; anthos, flower; alluding to the shape of the corolla.

Common names: Pennants; Suurknol.

This story of mine is an intriguing story, one that lends itself to coincidence and fate, as I often find in life, leading me to events that eventually take shape, form and then, into a sense of meaning and understanding. Many years ago whilst on one of my many sojourns to flower shows, displays and garden events, I met a fine old lady who was selling pieces of succulents and cacti, un-named, mixed, in plastic bags. Being one not ever able to resist a bargain, I bought a bag of pieces from her. However, my inherent dislike for un-named plants led me to ask her if she could name them for me.

"Oh no", she said, "but my son can. He grows them and he works at the Horticulture College. I'll give you his address and you can ask him."

I eventually got around to writing to him and he kindly sent me more pieces (free) all named, including well-written out nametags.

He and I became quite friendly and this eventually led to him sending me his latest article, which he had written on Chasmanthe. Accompanying it, was a huge parcel of large Chasmanthe bulbs, which included bicolor and aethiopica.

This started my love affair with Chasmanthe.

I put them into pots and much to my dismay, they grew so big that they burst out of the pots. Into the ground they went and the flowers were delightful, as well as the greenery of the beautiful large leaves.

The genus Chasmanthe is endemic to the Cape Province and has three species. It extends from the Eastern to the Western Capes.

It is deciduous, winter-growing and has a corm. The inflorescence is a simple or branched spike bearing long tubular flowers, which are in various shades of orange-red, scarlet, and yellow.

The fruit is a capsule of large rounded, orange-yellow to brownish- orange seeds. They thrive in as well in semi-shade as they do in full sun. Plant the corm 3-5 cm deep and you can leave them untouched to grow for many years.

They require a well-drained soil containing compost or leaf mould but I have found they grow easily in any soil and are not that fussy.

The best way to propagate them is by the offsets but they grow very easily from the large seed. Plant them out at the beginning of their second season.

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