Massonia echinata JAA2102 SEEDS - Hedgehog lily | Massonia

Massonia echinata JAA2102 seeds grow into a compact bulbous geophyte from the desert or dry shrubland biome of west-central Cape Province — the Karoo and Namaqualand fringe of South Africa. The JAA field number (2102) indicates a specific wild-collection by South African field botanist Jonathan Algar Amery. Described by Linnaeus filius (L.f.) in Supplementum Plantarum (1782). The epithet echinata means 'spiny' or 'echinate', referring to the warty, bristly or echinate leaf surface or the appearance of the flower spike. One of the Karoo-zone Massonia adapted to the desert or dry shrubland conditions of the Northern and Western Cape. Like all Massonia, produces two flat leaves and a compact ground-level inflorescence. Among the first plants documented as rodent-pollinated. Family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae.

Full sun; extremely well-drained rocky or sandy desert soils; very dry summer dormancy; cool wet winters — Namaqualand or Karoo fringe climate.

• JAA2102 = specific field-collection provenance; described by L.f. (Linnaeus filius, 1782)
• 'Echinata' = spiny/echinate; bristly warty leaf surface or spiny-looking inflorescence
• W. Central Cape Prov. — desert or dry shrubland biome; Karoo and Namaqualand zone
• Two flat ground-level leaves; compact inflorescence; rodent-pollinated; Family Asparagaceae
• Full sun; desert soils; very dry summer; Namaqualand/Karoo climate; Family Asparagaceae

Massonia echinata JAA2102 is a spiny-leaved desert Cape bulb — a field-collected provenance from the arid western Karoo and Namaqualand zone, described by Linnaeus' son and one of the Massonia species best adapted to the harshest conditions of the Cape's desert fringe.

IMPORTANT: Pictures show the adult plant, which is not for sale. The offer is only for seeds.