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Lachenalia viridiflora
Lachenalia viridiflora is a small bulbous perennial from the Cape of South Africa, grown for its turquoise flowers with white tips that appear in winter. It is an endangered wild species, so buy nursery-raised bulbs rather than collecting from the wild.
Lachenalia viridiflora, commonly known as the green-flowered Cape cowslip or turquoise hyacinth, is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family native to the southwest Cape Provinces of South Africa. It was discovered in the 1960s, and first described in 1972 by Winsome Fanny Barker.
Lachenalia viridiflora is cultivated as a garden ornamental, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Plants can be propagated through somatic embryogenesis, leaf cuttings, and by sowing seeds.
Lachenalia viridiflora is endemic to the Vrendenburg Peninsula, where there are two extant sub-populations. It grows in full sun on granite outcrops in sandy soil which becomes waterlogged in the winter. Lachenalia viridiflora is an endangered species, and is threatened by habitat loss and overgrazing.
Cape Cowslip · Red Lachenalia · Corymb Polyxena · Crown Polyxena · Yellow Viooltjie · Long Polyxena · Orchid Viooltjie · Fourtone Viooltjie · Milk Viooltjie · Cape Cowslips
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lachenalia viridiflora by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
