Purgative. Veltheimia capensis, Sand Lily, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
By the late eighteenth century this South African Sand Lily was being widely cultivated in English gardens, apparently since 1768. People liked the combination of the gray-green foliage and the pink of the flowers. Great Carolus Linnaeus knew it as Aletris capensis. As far as I can see, the first drawing of it was made much earlier by German-born Heinrich Claudius (c.1655-1697). Although the facts are not entirely clear, he appears to have accompanied the well-known Dutch governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel (1639-1712) - yes! he of Stellenbosch - on an expedition to the Copper Hills in 1685-6. Claudius was a jack-of-all-trades, a naturalist and a consummate draughtsman. He drew this plant. I haven't been able to see the drawing. But there are wonderful renditions by Belgian Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840), great botanical water colorist of the Château de Malmaison near Paris, in 1807.
Besides its beauty the plant has no use. But in his journal Van der Stel mentions that it is used by the Nama and the Griqua as a purgative. Remember that for this holiday season!
Purgative. Veltheimia capensis, Sand Lily, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
By the late eighteenth century this South African Sand Lily was being widely cultivated in English gardens, apparently since 1768. People liked the combination of the gray-green foliage and the pink of the flowers. Great Carolus Linnaeus knew it as Aletris capensis. As far as I can see, the first drawing of it was made much earlier by German-born Heinrich Claudius (c.1655-1697). Although the facts are not entirely clear, he appears to have accompanied the well-known Dutch governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel (1639-1712) - yes! he of Stellenbosch - on an expedition to the Copper Hills in 1685-6. Claudius was a jack-of-all-trades, a naturalist and a consummate draughtsman. He drew this plant. I haven't been able to see the drawing. But there are wonderful renditions by Belgian Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840), great botanical water colorist of the Château de Malmaison near Paris, in 1807.
Besides its beauty the plant has no use. But in his journal Van der Stel mentions that it is used by the Nama and the Griqua as a purgative. Remember that for this holiday season!