The lady who passed on the information to me is a descendent of Katharine Saunders. Katharine went out to Africa (around the Durban area) with her husband John who had taken a post working at a sugar Plantation. During her years there she did much in the way of botanical art and sent many plants back to Kew. I will try and find the detailed information that I have somewhere and send it on to you Jonathan -----Original Message----- From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of J.E. Shields Sent: 28 June 2010 13:48 To: Pacific Bulb Society Subject: Re: [pbs] Haemanthus and Scadoxus Culture Jonathan Hutchinson raises an interesting point! Dee Snijman in her book, "The Genus Haemanthus. A revision" (National Botanic Gardens of South Africa, 1984) spells it "katherinae" as does John Bryan in "Bulbs" Revised Edition, Timber Press, 2002. I suppose John and Dee could both be wrong; Scadoxus was only a side issue in Dee's book, and John was covering the whole spectrum of bulbs in his. Perhaps you could share your source with us, Jonathan? I've never seen the original Baker description of the subspecies, nor the 1976 Friis and Nordal revision of Haemanthus and Scadoxus. I'd certainly like to have a copy of the Friis & Nordal paper. Jim Shields At 12:48 PM 6/28/2010 +0100, you wrote: >The correct spelling for the Scadoxus multiflorus subspecies is actually >katharinea, named after Katharine Saunders .... Not a lot of people know that. > >-----Original Message----- >From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] >On Behalf Of J.E. Shields >Sent: 27 June 2010 19:46 >To: Pacific Bulb Society >Subject: [pbs] Haemanthus and Scadoxus Culture > >I'll post some notes on these two genera here in response to an inquiry. > >....... >SCADOXUS > >I only have experience with Scadoxus multiflorus katherinae, S. >membranaceus, and S. puniceus. All three are summer-growing and, under my >conditions, deciduous in winter. All three go outdoors in Spring (May, >here) after all danger of frost is past and stay there till September >(early autumn). > >S. puniceus is by far the easiest to grow. It blooms in February, just >before the new leaves appear. > >S, membranaceus and multiflorus katherinae bloom less reliably for me; I >have the feeling they would do better if they were grown evergreen, but my >greenhouse conditions do not seem to allow that. > >I hope this is of some help to enthusiasts of Haemanthus and Scadoxus. > >Jim Shields >in hot and humid central Indiana >USA ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA