Massonia pygmaea flowering next to
Cedarcot in June 2006. Only 5 cm high, lots of these little
hedgehog lilies appeared in June right next to the cottage. It prefers high altitudes, and is found in the
Kamiesberg and from the
Cederberg mountains to
Villiersdorp.
It is named after Francis
Masson (1741-1805), a gardener at the Royal Botanic Gardens at
Kew who travelled to South Africa with Captain Cook on his second circumnavigation of the globe. Prodigious collection ensued, including geraniums,
mesembs and
Strelitzia reginae - named in honour of Queen Charlotte. His second trip to South Africa was heavily constrained by a much changed political climate, in which
Masson had to collect clandestinely in forbidden areas. He risked his life to collect the seed of the Arum Lily (
Zantedeschia aethiopica) in Cape Town while the Dutch were at war with the British. After dedicating 33 years to collecting plants for
Kew he unfortunately froze to death in North America!
Massonia pygmaea flowering next to Cedarcot in June 2006. Only 5 cm high, lots of these little hedgehog lilies appeared in June right next to the cottage. It prefers high altitudes, and is found in the Kamiesberg and from the Cederberg mountains to Villiersdorp.
It is named after Francis Masson (1741-1805), a gardener at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew who travelled to South Africa with Captain Cook on his second circumnavigation of the globe. Prodigious collection ensued, including geraniums, mesembs and Strelitzia reginae - named in honour of Queen Charlotte. His second trip to South Africa was heavily constrained by a much changed political climate, in which Masson had to collect clandestinely in forbidden areas. He risked his life to collect the seed of the Arum Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) in Cape Town while the Dutch were at war with the British. After dedicating 33 years to collecting plants for Kew he unfortunately froze to death in North America!
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