Asparagaceae
Bowiea

Bowiea volubilis Harv. ex T.Moore & Mast.

First published in Gard. Chron. 1866: 971 (1866)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Uganda to S. Africa. It is a climbing bulbous geophyte and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Hyacinthaceae, Brita Stedje, Ph.D. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1996

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence up to ± 6 m. long with green branches.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels ± 2-5 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsules 9-25 mm.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds flattened, up to 10 mm. long.
[FTEA]

Stedje, B. & Kativu, S. (2023). Hyacinthaceae. In: M.A. García & B.F.P. Loeuille (eds), Flora Zambesiaca, Vol. 13(3). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Type
Type: South Africa, KwaZulu- Natal, 1862, Cooper 3263 (K holotype).
Morphology General Habit
Perennial herb, with bulbs c.5 cm diam., upper parts sometimes exposed and green; bulb scales fleshy
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 1–2, strap-shaped, withering early
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence glabrous, soft and succulent, much branched, twining and climbing, up to 2 m long or more, some branches sterile ending in a pointed tip
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels green, 18–35 mm long; bracts narrowly triangular, c.3 mm long with a spur at base c.1 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers green to yellowish, tepals reflexed, persistent in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Filaments
Filaments free, narrowly triangular to filiform, 2–3 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary conical, 3–4 × c.2 mm, green
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style 2–3 mm, slender, persistent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule ellipsoid, apex attenuate, 15–17 × 7–10 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds flattened, black and shiny, c.7 × 1.5 mm.
Distribution
Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique. Found in tropical East Africa to Namibia, South Africa and Angola.
Ecology
Usually in rocky places with grass in pockets of soil, on slopes with Brachystegia or in riverine forests; 300–1800 m.
Conservation
Moderately widespread taxon, but reputedly rare where it occurs; probably Near Threatened.
Note
The bulb and other parts of the plant are poisonous to humans and livestock. Subsp. garipiensis (van Jaarsv.) Bruyns occurs in Namibia and SW South Africa and has white flowers and the tepals are not reflexed.
[FZ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images