In February 2001, Wessel Pretorius, the resident Nature conservation officer for the Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve at Nieuwoudtville, sent a collection of plants to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens for identification. One of them he thought was a Kniphofia species. The botanists at Kirstenbosch could literally not believe their eyes when they saw the material because it was obvious to them that the specimen marked Kniphofia was in fact a Clivia species. | 
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The four then-known species of Clivia, C. nobilis, C. miniata, C. gardenii and C. caulescens occur in coastal and inland Afromontane forests from the Eastern Cape through KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland and Mpumalanga to the Soutpansberg in the Northern Province. These four known species occur in the summer rainfall area of South Africa, so it was beyond anyone's contemplation that a Clivia species could occur in the winter rainfall area, let alone as far north as Nieuwoudtville.
Dr Rourke, botanist at Kirstenbosch, immediately contacted Wessel Pretorius and they visited the site where the specimens had been collected – in the heart of the Oorlogskloof Reserve. It was then quite clear that a new Clivia species had been discovered. Dr Rourke appropriately named this new species Clivia mirabilis.
This discovery will result in a worldwide demand for plants and seed. It is this demand that concerns us at Nieuwoudtville. Apparently this new species dates back 5½ million years and there are only a few thousand plants in the newly discovered colony. It would be a tragedy if the acquisitiveness of nurserymen and growers will in any way result in the stripping of these ancient plants from their habitat. I am aware that Kirstenbosch and the Department of Nature Conservation are discussing how material will be made available in order to protect Clivia mirabilis through cultivation. So the Nieuwoudtville Clivia is strictly HANDS OFF. Should anyone attempt to collect either seed or plants from the reserve, he/she will need a magician - not a lawyer – to be extricated from the deep hole dug for himself/herself.
For the definitive description of Clivia mirabilis, see Bothlia 32, 1: 1-7 (2002). This article, with a beautiful illustration of Clivia mirabilis by Auriol Batten, can be viewed at SMIDSWINKEL RESTAURANT & INFO CENTRE |
