Drimia is a genus of bulbous plants in the Hyacinthaceae, including perhaps more familiar genera such as Albuca, Boweia, Lachenalia, Ledebouria, Massonia, and Ornithogalum! Drimias typically have much smaller and less showy floral displays than some of these other genera but have other virtues to recommend them. In the case of Drimia acarophylla, it is the small succulent leaves. As the name implies (acaro from Greek, meaning mite, and phylla, meaning leaf), the very succulent, elliptical, grayish leaves (less than 1 cm long) bear a striking resemblance to an engorged dog tick (ticks, like mites, also belong to the subclass of arachnids called Acari). While you might be aghast to find such a thing on your pet, it is a fascinating miniature to grow among your winter growers. The species grows cryptically in the bare blue pencil shale of the Great Fish River floodplain in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. We offer seedlings from controlled pollination of HBG 137459. $10.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 93 (2), Summer 2021