Rabbit's Ears

Description:

Seen while visiting the Sterkfontein Caves at the Cradle of Humankind (South Africa) Haemanthus is a small genus of bulbs endemic to southern Africa. Individual species may be evergreen, summer-growing or winter-growing. The flower consists of numerous florets held in a spherical or flattened umbel often surrounded by fleshy spathes, with the flower appearing before the leaves develop.

Habitat:

Haemanthus is found from Namibia through Namaqualand to the Western Cape and then through the Southern Cape to the Eastern Cape as far north as KwaZulu-Natal and the Transvaal. Haemanthus species are extremely variable in their habitat requirements - from coastal dunes to mountain tops, rocky ledges to seasonally-inundated gravel plains and bogs. Some species, such as H. canaliculatus, are to some extent fire-dependent in that they need occasional burning of their fynbos habitat to clear undergrowth in order to flower.