Plant Sources and Further Reading

Plant Sources

For the horticulturist, the really frustrating aspect of eriospermums is their extreme rarity in cultivation. Some of the neater species are beginning to make the rounds amongst aficionados of South African succulents, though, and in the coming years we should see more commercial offerings. In the U.S., the following nurseries may be able to provide you with named, artificially propagated eriospermum plants.

Arid Lands Greenhouses -- Sometimes list eriospermums amongst their bulb offerings.

Steven Hammer's Sphaeroid Institute -- Steve has listed a few erios in his catalogue. He grows many of the species, and will probably sell a greater variety in the future.

I am aware of a few other nurseries that have offered eriospermums, but am uncertain of their plant sources. Before buying, write to the proprietor and make dead certain that the plants they sell are not field-collected. The market for illegally and unethically field-collected South African bulbs is quite active, I'm sad to report. The last thing the embattled flora of South Africa needs is shady nurserymen or their minions of evil tearing up whole populations of eriospermums to satisfy the whims of collectors. If in doubt, abstain.

Eriospermum seed may be obtained from Silverhill Seeds in South Africa.

There is precious little information on eriospermums available on the web, aside from this site. Searching on google will yield a few photos, and also a certain number of pages dedicated to sweet potatoes (Eriospermum is apparently also the name of a subgenus in Ipomoea). The following links are more relevant than most.

University of Connecticut Biology Greenhouses -- My sometimes employer and home to several species of Eriospermum (look under Eriospermaceae in the family listing). If you're in the area, stop by to see the plants in person!

The Families of Flowering Plants: Eriospermaceae Endl. -- A technical description of the family, for the taxonomically inclined.

Print sources provide considerably more meat than the web. Pauline Perry's 1994 A Revision of the Genus Eriospermum (Contributions from the Bolus Herbarium 17, Univ. of Cape Town) is indispensable for the serious student of the genus. You can obtain a copy from Rainbow Gardens Bookshop, or directly from the Bolus Herbarium.
There is also a semi-popular article on the genus by Steve Hammer and myself: Opel, M.R. and S.A. Hammer. 2001. Elusive eriospermums. Cactus and Succulent J. (US) 73: 187-193. You can buy back issues of the Cactus and Succulent Journal from their website.

Eriospermum capense, one of many species with relatively unornamented leaves.