Seven Years in the making – Haemanthus pumilio

Haemanthus pumilio (H. pumilio) is a lowland species endemic to the Stellenbosch–Paarl area, and today it survives in only three known populations. Ongoing habitat loss from urban expansion and agriculture has reduced most of its natural range, placing the species at significant risk.

Like many Haemanthus species, plants become dormant through the dry summer months, then flower just ahead of the winter rains. Seeds are released just before the seasonal rains to give seedlings an optimal start. Thereafter, two large leaves are formed, storing energy for the next season.

It’s a system that works, but not very quickly. Some Haemanthus species can take up to 17 years to flower, making every successful flowering event a long-term investment.

At the Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, this long view underpins ongoing conservation work. For more than a decade, the Garden’s team has monitored wild populations, carried out hand-pollination, and protected developing seed from predation. Seed collected from these populations are cultivated ex situ in the garden, with the aim of reintroducing mature plants to the general population.

In 2018, seed from one of the remaining H. pumilio populations was sown at the Garden. In 2025, critically endangered paintbrush lilies from a key local population eventually flowered!

Seven years is a long wait, but in conservation terms, it’s a meaningful result. It demonstrates that ex situ cultivation of H. pumilio is viable, and that sustained, careful human intervention can yield beautiful results over time.

With so little natural habitat remaining, continued conservation effort will likely be essential to prevent further decline. For now, these flowering plants offer something tangible: a reminder that even slow-growing species can respond when given the right conditions and consistent care.

Our critically endangered paintbrush lilies can be viewed in the Garden’s bulb collection – an opportunity to see a species that few will ever encounter in the wild.