Haemanthus at Quail Botanical Gardens
Allen Repashy (Sun, 09 Mar 2008 19:19:11 PDT)

Hello Everyone,

I was at Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas Ca. today and in the South
Africa section they had a large species of Haemanthus that was in leaf.
It was labeled as Haemanthus sanguineus. But looking at the Wiki, it
doesn't look to me like this species. The leaf's were not prostrate at
all... the two leafs were quite large and glossy and approx 6" across at
the widest point. probably 18 " long each. shooting straight up and then
curling down and touching the ground at the tips, with about an eight
inch gap under the arch. It was quite striking. There were two or three
clumps of the bulbs in the South African garden. Is anyone here familiar
with Quail and the bulbs. I don't think if you were a bulb fan that you
could miss them during the growing season. The description said it was a
winter grower and deciduous. The plant to me looks exactly like
Haemanthus coccineus, but I am a newbie at bulbs and only have photos
for reference. Is it possible the plant is mis labeled at the garden? It
sure seems the case, but I find it hard to believe they could make a
mistake like that.

Thanks, Allen