On Thursday, I was struck by flashes of bright pink in a field thick with fynbos. Upon inspection, I discovered a flower I had not encountered before, Tritoniopsis lata. Some of the specimens were deep pink (visible in the out-of-focus background) whilst others, like this one, were considerably lighter. Tritoniopsis lata blooms from March to May (autumn in South Africa) and is related to Tritoniopsis triticea, which blooms from January to April (midsummer to mid-autumn in South Africa).
Yet another autumn lily stolen by summer; this time, the Chandelier lily, earlier than I have ever seen it before! Like the Belladonna and Paintbrush lilies, it too emerges directly from the bulb beneath the soil, usually after the first rain of March, the beginning of the South African autumn. At this rate, there will be no lilies left come the month!
After an extended period of drought, the Western Cape province of South Africa has experienced a rainy summer. So unusual is this that wild autumn lilies have sprung from the ground a month early!1 Expected only after the first rain of March, this is the Belladonna lily (Amaryllis belladonna) blooming in early February—high summer in South Africa!
Forgotten Fields 