Romulea

Romulea is a genus in the Iridaceae family of about 90 species that is found both in South Africa and in Europe. Rootstock is a corm, globose, bell shaped to top shaped, compressed or asymmetric with a circular to crescent shaped basal ridge. This genus has flowers reminiscent of Crocus. They are both in the subfamily Crocoideae and the tribe Croceae. Many are quite striking, especially the South African species and there is a great variation in color and markings of the flowers. They are easy to grow in pots and many are easy from seed, flowering rather quickly in some cases. We have made wiki pages for them based on geography and all species are also listed below with a link found in a table to the place on the correct wiki geographical pages.

There are three good references for the southern African species, The Genus Romulea in South Africa written by Miriam de Vos in 1972, her revision written in 1982 and a later revision from John Manning and Peter Goldblatt in 2001. Also Cameron McMaster has provided interesting information and photos in an article he wrote for Farmer's Weekly in 2008.

Most species of Romulea are not difficult to grow from seeds. Sow winter growing species in a well-drained medium in the fall and water well. It takes 4-6 weeks for seedlings to appear. If the seedlings don't come up the first year, they may the second year (Mary Sue Ittner). It is reported that they need a day/night fluctuation in temperature to sprout. Many growers have difficulties sprouting Romulea hantamensis. Seeds of that species should be fresh and stratified in the fridge for a few months. A little bit of fertilizer may help the seedlings develop better. Allow the plants to have a complete dry summer dormancy when the leaves have withered.

For photos and information of species select the appropriate wiki page:

or click on the name in the table below:

Romulea species
Romulea albiflora	Romulea albomarginata	*Romulea amoena	Romulea aquatica
Romulea atranda	Romulea austinii	Romulea autumnalis	Romulea biflora
Romulea bulbocodium	Romulea camerooniana	*Romulea campanuloides	Romulea citrina
Romulea clusiana	Romulea columnae	*Romulea crocea	Romulea cruciata
Romulea dichotoma	Romulea discifera	Romulea diversiformis	Romulea elliptica
Romulea engleri	Romulea eximia	Romulea fibrosa	Romulea flava
Romulea gigantea	*Romulea grandiscapa	Romulea hallii	Romulea hantamensis
Romulea hirsuta	Romulea hirta	Romulea hybrids	Romulea jugicola
Romulea kamisensis	Romulea komsbergensis	Romulea leipoldtii	Romulea ligustica
Romulea linaresii	Romulea longipes	Romulea luteiflora	Romulea macowanii
Romulea membranacea	Romulea minutiflora	Romulea monadelpha	Romulea montana
Romulea monticola	Romulea multisulcata	Romulea namaquensis	Romulea nivalis
Romulea obscura	Romulea pearsonii	Romulea phoenicia	Romulea pilosa
Romulea pratensis	Romulea pudica	Romulea quartzicola	Romulea ramiflora
Romulea rosea	Romulea sabulosa	Romulea saldanhensis	Romulea schlechteri
Romulea setifolia	Romulea sladenii	E-M Romulea sp.	SA Romulea sp.
Romulea sphaerocarpa	Romulea subfistulosa	Romulea syringodeoflora	Romulea tabularis
Romulea tempskyana	Romulea tetragona	*Romulea thodei	Romulea toximontana
Romulea tortuosa	Romulea triflora	Romulea unifolia	Romulea vinacea
Romulea vlokii

European And Mediterranean Romuleas - South African Romulea a-d - South African Romulea e-k - South African Romulea l-n - South African Romulea o-s - South African Romulea t-z