Monday, April 17, 2017

Frizzle Sizzle

I have an indoor bulb other than amaryllis blooming right now, surprise!

Albuca spiralis 'Frizzle Sizzle'

This is Albuca spiralis 'Frizzle Sizzle', a cultivar of a bulb native to southern Africa.  It's a winter-growing bulb, which loses its leaves and goes dormant during the heat of the summer.  There are so many fun plants in southern Africa.

I got this one recently, in bud, so I can't take credit for the bloom spike.  The flowers are pretty but somewhat nondescript.  They're greeny-yellow, pendant, and while the outer sepals open fully, the petals in the center stay closed even when the flower is mature.  They are scented, however, a sort of vanilla-clove-lemon-wintergreen fragrance.  That's not really the right description of the scent, but it's hard to describe.

However, the flowers aren't the main show on this plant.  Look at the leaves!  

Albuca spiralis 'Frizzle Sizzle'

Curly corkscrew spirals! Apparently the more light they get, the curlier they get.  So fun!

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