What is "tulbaghia"

Tulbaghia (wild garlic or society garlic) a monocotyledonous genus of herbaceous perennial bulbs native to Africa, belonging to the Amaryllis family. It is one of only two known genera in the society garlic tribe within the onion subfamily. The genus was named for Ryk Tulbagh (1699-1771), one time governor of The Cape of Good Hope.

Most species are native to the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. As is common to many members of the onion tribe, when their leaves are bruised they produce a distinct garlic smell, hence its common name. The flowers are borne in an umbel. Each flower has six narrow tepals. A characteristic of the genus is that there is a "corona" – a raised crown-like structure – at the centre of the flower. This may be small and scale-like or may be larger, somewhat like the trumpet of a small narcissus.

1. Tulbaghia acutiloba Harv. - Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa
2. Tulbaghia aequinoctialis Welw. ex Baker - Angola
3. Tulbaghia alliacea L.f., syn. Tulbaghia affinis - Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa
4. Tulbaghia calcarea Engl. & Krause - Namibia
5. Tulbaghia cameronii Baker - Cameroon, Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia
6. Tulbaghia capensis L. - Cape Province
7. Tulbaghia cernua Fisch. - Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa
8. Tulbaghia coddii Vosa & R.B.Burb. - Mpumalanga
9. Tulbaghia cominsii Vosa - Cape Province
10. Tulbaghia dregeana Kunth - Cape Province
11. Tulbaghia friesii Suess. - Nyanga Mountains of Mozambique + Zimbabwe
12. Tulbaghia galpinii Schltr. - Cape Province
13. Tulbaghia leucantha Baker - Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia
14. Tulbaghia ludwigiana Harv. - Swaziland, South Africa
15. Tulbaghia luebbertiana Engl. & Krause - Namibia
16. Tulbaghia macrocarpa Vosa - Zimbabwe
17. Tulbaghia montana Vosa - Cape Province
18. Tulbaghia natalensis Baker - Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal
19. Tulbaghia nutans Vosa - Mpumalanga
20. Tulbaghia pretoriensis Vosa & Condy - Gauteng
21. Tulbaghia rhodesica R.E.Fr. - Tanzania, Zambia
22. Tulbaghia simmleri Beauverd - Northern Province
23. Tulbaghia tenuior K.Krause & Dinter - Cape Province, Namibia
24. Tulbaghia transvaalensis Vosa - Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal
25. Tulbaghia verdoornia Vosa & R.B.Burb. - Cape Province
26. Tulbaghia violacea Harv. – Society garlic - Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal; naturalized in Tanzania + Mexico

A few names have been coined using the name Tulbaghia, but applied to species now considered better suited to the genus Agapanthus. We porovide links to help you find appropriate information.

• Tulbaghia africana - Agapanthus africanus
• Tulbaghia heisteri - Agapanthus africanus
• Tulbaghia minor - Agapanthus africanus
• Tulbaghia praecox - Agapanthus praecox