Clivia nobilis was the first species of Clivia to be discovered in South Africa. Its habitat is from the Eastern Cape, near Port Elizabeth to the Kwazulu-Natal border.

Clivia nobilis is characterized by strap-shaped leaves with a typical notch at the end. The leaves are serrated all along their length. Flowers are pendant and colour ranges from cream to red. The tips of the flowers are green. Clivia nobilis has been used in breeding inter-specific hybrids and it is an important plant for the development of green flowers. Clivia nobilis is slow-growing and may take 6 - 8 years to reach the flowering stage. There are a few important clones of Clivia nobilis. One of the rarer varieties which is registered under the name "Pearl of the Cape" has light yellow flowers with green tips and is owned by Welland Cowley. This plant is believed to have come from a population in the Grahamstown disctrict.

A few months ago I was contacted by a Clivia friend, Bridget Randall, who told me there was a huge Clivia nobilis growing in a garden in the area known as "The Island" in Sedgefield. We all went down to the property and had a look at the plant in question.

What we saw was clearly an old plant with many off-sets. In diameter, it measured about 1.5m but the astounding thing was the height of the plant. The plant measured close to 1.5m from ground level to leaf tip. The leaves are typically nobilis with notched ends.

Unfortunately the owner of the property was away and so we were not able to find out anything about he history of this plant. It is clearly a happy plant, growing in the typically sand-loam found here in Sedgefield.

At the other end of the scale I had a dwarf nobilis plant flowering last spring the variety known as "East London Red". This is the reddest nobilis I have yet seen. Even the immature fruits are red. The height of the plant in flower is about 35cm.

We look forward to using this plant in the development of future red interspecifics.

Welland Cowley
Cape Flora
Sedgefield.