Tulbaghia natalensis
Introduction
One of South Africa’s endemic species, this attractive wild garlic is definitely a go to when looking for low maintenance plants.
Description
Description
Tulbaghia natalensis is an evergreen, clump-forming bulbous plant that can grow up to 400-500 mm tall, with a thick rhizomatous rootstock. Each bulb produces 6-8 leaves that grow up to 250 mm long and are between 4–7 mm wide. The leaves are strap-shaped, erect, glaucous, light green, firm, with a smell of a garlic when bruised or broken. In spring and summer (August to February), it produces an umbel of 6-10 flowers on a stalk 250-400 mm long. The pale pink or purple-tinged white flowers have a green to yellowish fleshy ring in the centre. In the afternoon and evening, a sweet almond-like fragrance emanates from the flowers of this distant relative of the onion.
Conservation Status
Status
According to the Red List of South African Plants, the conservation status for Tulbaghia natalensis is Least Concern (LC), meaning the wild population is stable and currently under no threats.
Distribution and habitat
Distribution description
Throughout the whole world, Tulbaghia natalensis only occurs in South Africa. It grows in areas with an elevation of 800-1 800 m in the Drakensberg and Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, in marshy or rocky grasslands, in shallow moist soil or near water.
Derivation of name and historical aspects
History
Tulbaghia belongs in the Alliaceace family which contains roughly 600 species, although some botanists place it in the subfamily Allioideae in the family Amaryllidaceae. The onion family was named after the the onion, genus Allium. Tulbaghia is a genus only found in Africa, particularly southern Africa. It consists of 28 accepted species, of which 21 species occur in South Africa, 12 of which occur only in South Africa (are endemic). Tulbaghias occur naturally in Tanzania, Malawi, Cameroon, DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa. In South Africa they occur in all nine provinces. Historically the genus Tulbaghia was named after Ryk Tulbagh (1699-1771). He was a governor at the Cape of Good Hope from 1751 to 1771. Tulbagh was interested in nature and would often ask his gardener, J.A. Auge, to collect specimens of plants, insects, and other creatures which he sent to Linnaeus in Europe for scientists to document and study. One of the specimens he sent was of Tulbaghia capensis, and Linnaeus named the genus after him. The species name natalensis meaning ‘of or from Natal’, refers to this species being native to Natal, which is now known as KwaZulu-Natal.
Ecology
Ecology
Species of solitary bee and honeybees are mostly responsible for pollinating Tulbaghia natalensis. They are attracted to the scent of the flowers. Bees visit the flowers for nectar and pollen, which is produced by the flowers, and while foraging they transfer pollen from the anther to the stigma of different plants, and that is how pollination occurs. The flowers may also be pollinated by butterflies or moths and other insects.
Uses
Use
Just like its well known relative wild garlic, Tulbaghia violacea, T. natalensis is also used as a culinary herb, fodder and medicinal plant. Like most Tulbaghia species, due to their garlic scent, it is also planted in gardens to repel snakes and other pests. The leaves are crushed and applied on the skin to repel ticks and insects.
The sweet wild garlic is also used in ornamental horticulture. Due to its small size and the fact that they don’t produce a lot of leaves, mass planting is the best option. It can be planted in containers, in a rockery garden, as an edging plant and along a pathway. It can also be mass planted as a ground cover.
Growing Tulbaghia natalensis
Grow
The sweet wild garlic is very easy to grow. It prefers moist soils that are well-drained and contain lots of compost. It can be propagated by seeds or by dividing the clumps.
Collect seeds as soon as the capsules open, this shows that they are mature and ready to be collected. Sow the seeds in spring, in deep seedling trays and maintain them for a year. Transplant them out in the garden in the next year or two.
Another propagation method is to dig out a large clump, divide it into smaller clumps or individual plants and replant them. It is advisable not to disturb the divided bulbs too often because it might delay flowering. They generally flower in the second or third year.
Due to their strong smell, tulbaghias are hardly attacked by pests and diseases, but slugs and snails can cause significant damage to the leaves. They thrive in both full sun and semi-shaded areas.
References
- Aiston, G. 2023. Observation of Tulbaghia natalensis, Thurlow Nature Reserve, KZN. iNaturalist. Online. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/189843690.
- Burbidge, R.B. 1978. Revision of the genus Tulbaghia. Notes From The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 36: 77-103.
- Du Plessis, N. & Duncan, G. 1989. Bulbous plants of southern Africa, a guide to their cultivation and propagation. Tafelberg, Cape Town.
- Dyer R.A. 1945. Tulbaghia natalensis. The flowering plants of Africa. Vol. XXV. Plate 979.
- Plants of the World Online. Tulbaghia L. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331301-2. Accessed 3/6/24.
- Pooley, E. 1998. A field guide to wild flowers Kwazulu-Natal and the eastern region. Natal Flora Publications Trust, Durban.
- Raimondo, D., Von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J.E., Helme, N.A., Turner, R.C., Kamundi, D.A. & Manyama, P.A. (eds). in press. Red List of South African plants. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
- Warren, P. 2013. Observation of Tulbaghia natalensis, Lake Lyndhurst, KZN. iNaturalist. Online. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10949333.
- Wildflower Nursery, Tulbaghia natalensis.https://wildflowernursery.co.za/indigenous-plant-database/tulbaghia-natalensis/. Accessed 18 April 2024.
- Wood, J.M. & Evans, M.S. 1898. Natal plants: descriptions and figures of Natal indigenous plants, with notes on their distribution, economic value, native names, etc., etc. Vol 1. Part 1. Bennett & Davis, Durban.
Credits
Dineo Dibakwane, Ntsako Chauke and Phuti Mmethi
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
June 2024
Acknowledgements: the authors thank Garth Aiston, Peter Warren and Alice Notten for providing images.
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type: Bulb
SA Distribution: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal
Soil type: Clay, Loam
Flowering season: Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer
PH:
Flower colour: White, Pink, Yellow
Aspect: Full Sun
Gardening skill: Easy
Special Features:
Fragrant
Good potplant
Edible plant
Medical plant
Useful plant
Feeds honeybees
Wet sites
Horticultural zones
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