Description:

• Deciduous or evergreen bulbous herbs
• Bulb 20-100 mm in diameter, with a parchment-like covering, producing extensible fibres when torn
• Leaves (2-)4-6(-8), usually present at flowering, rarely after, distichous, filiform to lorate, glabrous
• Inflorescence (1-)7-20(-75)-flowered, in a ± hemispherical head, up to 150(-240) mm across; scape slender or robust, solid, slightly or strongly compressed, 120-500(-900) mm long, glabrous or rarely minutely puberulous, abscissing at ground level after fruiting; spathe valves 2, narrowly lanceolate, membranous
• Flowers irregular, sometimes weakly so, widely flared, pink, red, or white; pedicels spreading, equalling or rarely somewhat longer than perigone, glabrous or minutely pubescent
• Tepals connate basally into a short tube; segments attenuate, recurved; margins undulate, rarely plane
• Stamens arising at tepal base, declinate or sometimes central, ± unequal; filaments filiform, clustered, shortly connate basally, often with short lateral appendages at base; anthers dorsifixed; pollen bisulculate with spinulose exine
• Ovary subglobose; ovules up to 4 per locule, unitegmic; style declinate or sometimes central, filiform; stigma obscurely trifid or 3-lobed
• Capsule small, subglobose, loculicidal, membranous, readily disintegrating
• Seeds fleshy, ovoid, 3-7 mm in diameter, reddish green; testa stomatose; integument and embryo green
• x = 11

Nomenclature:

• Nerine Herb.
  • Herbert: t. 2124 (1820) name conserved
  • Herbert: 18 (1821)
  • Herbert: 283 (1837)
  • Baker: 209 (1896)
  • Traub: 1 (1967)
  • Sölch & Roessler: 11 (1969)
  • Norris: 7 (1974)
• Imhofia Heist.
  • Heister: 29 (1755) name rejected.
• Laticoma Raf.
  • Rafinesque: 12 (1838).
• Loxanthes Salisb.
  • Salisbury: 117 (1866) in part

Distribution & Notes:

• Southern Africa: Species ± 23, endemic, in all countries and provinces; most diverse in the eastern regions
  • Many horticultural hybrids have been described