The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

approx 12inches long

Hi Leslie - can you please include a photo - it has to be less than 500kb to be able to load to the site

I thought I had already attached this photo on original request

Got it this time - might have been more than 500kb last time :-) Doesn't look native, and I should know what it is but can't remember. So you will have to wait until a superior botanist has a look :-)

Haemanthus coccineus. A South African bulb which is sometimes called propeller plant because the flower will be followed by a propeller-like leaf. There will be a decent-sized bulb under the ground. It's not a weed, and is quite a cool plant.

Even if 'not a weed' as Philip attests, I have not seen this plant appear
spontaneously' anywhere before. So I think it would be very useful to make a herbarium specimen of this. The Herbarium at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand would be able to advise how you do this, or would take the specimen fresh - your best contact there is Dr Leon Perrie - leonp@tepapa.govt.nz

Hi Peter. As you say, it's good to keep tabs on anything if there's a chance that it's of concern. In this case, I expect that 'spontaneous' means that the bulbs lay unnoticed in a section of the property where they were planted a long time ago, and then reappeared as usual (as opposed to having spread to the spot). It's quite common that people are surprised by its appearance at this time of year - especially because the flowers precede the foliage, and it will often skip a couple of years in flowering.