Veltheimia bracteata vs. capensis
Mary Sue Ittner (Sat, 09 Apr 2005 08:24:23 PDT)

Dear Tsuh Yang,

In the Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs key:

Leaves glossy dark green, seldom all deciduous; bulb tunics fleshy; bracts
10-30 mm long, spring flowering = V. bracteata

Leaves glaucous or grayish, deciduous; outer bulb tunics papery; bracts
10-15 mm long; autumn and winter flowering = V. capensis

Looking over the wiki I see that a lot of our pictures don't really show
the leaves so have added a picture my husband took of my plants in bloom in
March 2003. And I've tried to improve the text a bit to explain the
differences.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
New picture:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

I think when we started this list and decided to create a wiki as a place
to add pictures instead of creating a separate image list where attachments
were allowed, we never anticipated what a resource it would become. I have
had the strange experience of getting emails from people who do not know me
who reference a wiki picture as "the authority." In a couple of instances
the picture has been one my husband or I took! Knowing people look to it to
help them figure out a plant is a good reason to include many different
aspects of the plants in our pictures for the wiki (leaves, storage organs,
whole plant), in addition to close-ups of the flowers. Habitat pictures are
great too as often plants in cultivation can look very different and
besides it gives you an idea of where they grow which can help you figure
out what they might need to be successful. And text is extremely helpful too.

The Veltheimia bracteata I grow is so different from V. capensis that they
are easy to tell apart. One has shiny green leaves and the other one dull
silver gray leaves. I've not gotten blooms from V. capensis and suspect
I'll have much more trouble getting it to thrive for me even though it is
from a winter rainfall area and V. bracteata from an area where rainfall
occurs in summer or year round. My winters are really wetter than V.
capensis likes and since it needs a lot of sun to bloom, sheltering it
doesn't work very well either. On the other hand I can leave V. bracteata
on a open covered porch where the wind blows a bit of rain on it, but where
it is protected from the worst of our storms and hail and I can appreciate
the gorgeous shiny leaves which return in fall and the long blooming time.
I thank Bill Dijk and Doug Westfall for turning me on to this plant which
is one of my favorites! If this is what you have Rand, I predict you are
going to be very happy.

Mary Sue