Approximately 30 species of bulbous plants from South Africa. They have strap-shaped to filiform basal leaves and leafless stems bearing terminal umbels of six-tepalled flowers rather like spidery lilies.

Uses

With a few exceptions nerines are cool greenhouse plants and look out of place even in the alpine house. The only reasonably hardy species in general cultivation, N. bowdenii is a splendidly robust garden plant and can be grown on the larger rock garden, but is not in keeping with its companions. The small species described below are very different and can be grown in the alpine house providing the worst frosts are kept at bay. They require a sharply drained soil, ideally loam-based with plenty of gritty sand and a sunny position. The deciduous species must be kept dry when dormant, the evergreen ones more or less dry in winter. Propagation by offsets when dormant, or seed sown as soon as ripe, it being fleshy and short-lived.