Leaves 3-8, basal, lorate to elliptic, somewhat succulent, firm or flaccid
Inflorescence usually a solitary, tall, many-flowered raceme; peduncle erect, cylindrical; bracts large, lanceolate, acuminate, membranous
Flowers white, creamy yellow tinged green or pale green, bell-shaped, fairly large, pendulous, faintly scented; pedicels spreading, long
Tepals fused below forming a tube; lobes narrowly to widely spreading, longer or shorter than tube; persistent, splitting down one side to accommodate the enlarging capsule
Stamens 6, in two whorls, arising from perianth tube, included; filaments terete to flat; anthers versatile, introrse
Found in marshy or somewhat drier ground, grasslands, forest margins, wet cliffs
Cultivated in England since 1862
References:
BAKER, J.G. 1897. Liliaceae. Flora capensis 6,2
DECAISNE, J. 1880. Note sur le Galtonia, nouveau genre de Liliacées de l'Afrique australe. Flore des serres et des jardins de l'Europe 23
HILLIARD, O.M. & BURTT, B.L. 1988. A revision of the genus Galtonia (Liliaceae). Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 45
POOLEY, E. 1998. A field guide to wild flowers of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region. Natal Flora Publications Trust, Durban
VERDOORN, I. 1955. Galtonia viridiflora. Flowering Plants of Africa 30
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Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
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In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.