View source for Brunsvigia josephinae

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Amaryllidaceae
|genus=Brunsvigia
|species=josephinae
|common_name=Josephine's lily, Candelabra lily
|habit=bulbous
|lifespan=perennial
|features=deciduous, flowers
|Temp Metric=°F
|image=Brunsvigia josephinae (Villa Hanbuy, Italy).JPG
|image_width=180
|image_caption=Brunsvigia josephinae
}}
'''''Brunsvigia josephinae''''', commonly called '''Josephine's lily, Candelabra lily''', is a [[deciduous]], [[subtropical]] species of ''[[Brunsvigia]]'' originating from [[South Africa]].<ref name="wiesema">{{cite book|last=Wiersema|first=John Harry|coauthors=Blanca León|title=World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference|publisher=CRC Press|date=1999|isbn=0849321190|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=hQL-2sdxgDAC}}</ref>  It is marked by deep pink to red leaves which are about 12 to 15 inches long.  It flourishes in medium humidity, at temperatures between 50 and 75°F (10 to 24°C).<ref name="plantcarecom">{{cite web|url=http://www.plantcare.com/encyclopedia/josephines-lily-1255.aspx|title=Josephine's Lily|publisher=Plantcare.com|accessdate=2009-03-02}}</ref>  It shoots up from bulbs in March and April, and the leaves develop later.  These bulbs can take 12 years to settle before they flower, but they flower annually once established.<ref name="diary">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s210831.htm|title=Plant Diary: Brunsvigia Josephinae & Cyclamen|date=2000-11-10|accessdate=2009-03-02}}</ref>

''B. josephinae'' is about 0.65 m tall when flowering. Its bulbs are some 200 mm in diameter and usually exposed. Leaves appear only in winter; they are blueish grey and typically range from 8-20 leaves per plant. Dark red, tubular flowers appear in late summer to autumn; they are 15 mm long atop stalks approximately 650 mm long, with 30-40 flowers per plant. Plants may take as long as 14 years to mature from seeds.

The lily was named for [[Joséphine de Beauharnais]], [[Napoleon I of France|Napolean]]'s empress.<ref name="diary"/>

{{Inc|
Brunsvigia josephinae, Ker. Bulb 5-6 in. thick: Lvs. 8-10, strap-shaped, glaucous or greenish, thick, closely ribbed, 2-3 ft. long, l½-2 in. broad: scape 1 in. thick, 1½ ft. long; fls. 20-30, rarely 50-60, in an umbel; pedicels ½-1ft. long: caps, smaller than in B. gigantea, less conical and less strongly angled. B.M. 2578. F.S. 4:322.—Named after the Empress Josephine, who purchased the original bulb after it flowered at Malmaison.
}}