Haemanthus montanus
Willem Reuter

Haemanthus montanus. Only seen them at two localities. Both with a few kms of each other and at the top of Oliviershoek Pass in the Berg. Tightly wedged into rock fissures but heavily festooned with seed on the first occasion and the following year in wonderful bud and flowering stages. About 50 bulbs shared a few handfuls of leaf mould but were doing very well.

Heavy morning mist and heavy winter frost and light snow falls. Once every 20 years or so, they get a 3 metre/10 foot snow covering for a few days. The main colony is sitting atop a smooth rock dome about 10-12 metres above the surrounding mountain. I strongly suspect Baboons play some role in seed distribution(?)

Greg Pettit (September 20, 2005)
South Africa