Conservation

The Function of the Flower
Not all plants have a flower. Grasses produce millions of small light pollen grains which are transferred by the wind. The flower has evolved to attract pollinating animals. Clivia pollen is "large", heavy and sticky. Any Clivia pollen grains that do not have these characteristics will not be transferred, and these will tend not to be passed on to the next generation. Some plants have underground flowers. A ground orchid found near Nowra (South Coast NSW) is only pollinated by a night cricket!! (This adaptation by the flower and the pollinator to each other is seen as an example of "convergent evolution").

The flowers of many flowering plants, including the Clivia, have also evolved to minimise self pollination. The pollen becomes ripe a day or two before the stigma is sticky and receptive. But in the wild, with wind movement of the flowers, they are often pollinated from being rubbed against adjacent flowers in the flower head. In a shadehouse, with little air movement, the current practice of many specialists of capping the stigma after hand pollination is largely unnecessary.

Just as crucial to the continued viability of the genus is effective seed dispersal. The skin of the ripe fruit changes colour and is eaten variously by birds, rodents and monkeys in different areas, (with the seed being deposited with the faeces in some cases).

Another recent finding is that approximately 75% of all Australian plants have associations with particular kinds of fungi called mycorrhizae which attach themselves to the plant roots and thereby make nitrogen, phosphorous and other nutrients more available to the host plant. Even more recently, (2009), has it been found that such fungi are an essential part of the functioning of Clivia roots. (This may be an explanation of why C. nobilis takes up to 10 years from seed to flower in a pot, but only half that time in the wild.)

It is obvious that the "adaptability" of any plant critically depends on effective pollination and seed dispersal as much as on the "hardiness" etc... of the plant itself.

THE CONSERVATION OF THE CLIVIA

Recent DNA evidence shows that the forebears of all humans came out of Africa some 70,000 years ago, and numbered only a few hundred hunter/gatherers. By about 10,000 years ago, they had populated the globe and with a total population of some 10- 20 million.

Human Migration (out of Africa)

The gradual transition from hunter/gathering to agriculture occurred within the last 10,000 years, and depended upon the domestication of wild wheat and barley, and of large mammals: sheep, goats, cattle, pigs and horses.

It is quite possible that this "domestication" was originally an unintended consequence of spiritual activity. The Eurasian auroch was a wild forebear of modern cattle. It had huge crescent shaped horns, and was captured alive and tethered for ritual sacrifice to the spirit of the new moon. Likewise wheat grains in particular were seen as a symbol of the female vulva and were reaped, gathered and stored and used in rituals associated with fertility and rebirth.

It has been estimated that, at that time, the “biomass” of all the earth's humans and their domesticated mammals was some 2% of that of the total of land mammals. Today that proportion is over 90%, and the human population alone is expected to increase by up to 40% in the next 40 years.

No wonder that most of the planet's “wild” fauna and flora are now threatened, and this is apart from the additional effects of global warming.

All Clivia species are under varying degrees of threat as a result of loss of habitat, (from deforestation, urbanisation, agriculture, and over-harvesting), by the illegal collecting by traditional healers for spiritual and medical purposes, and by illegal collecting by European collectors. It is now protected in all South African provinces and while some species are currently not threatened, Mirabilis, Nobilis and Robusta are at present described as “vulnerable” with a high risk of extinction.

This developing situation has naturally alarmed Clivia lovers in South Africa. John Winter, curator of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens (1978 - 1998) was personally responsible for collecting and breeding a number of genera including Clivia. From 1995, he developed the most comprehensive “habitat” collection in the country. As the plants multiplied, they were distributed to the other National Botanical Gardens.

Sean Chubb, initially a farmer, is now also of world rank as a Clivia hybridiser. But more importantly, he has continued the collection of wild varieties, and the seeds of some are now offered commercially - one of the most effective ways of preventing extinction. (Some of these varieties are currently listed by this Nursery).

John Winter was the first chairman of the Clivia Society and Sean Chubb was the longtime chairperson of the KwaZulu Natal Club, and the activities of these groups have led to an upsurge of interest in the conservation of the Clivia by budding collectors and gardeners. But a minority of the South Africans, (mostly affluent Europeans), have been more concerned with hybridising new colours exhibited at competitive shows, and with little concern for the wild.

Even just in terms of the research discoveries of the last decade, it is obvious that at least as much will be learnt in the next decade, provided the wild material continues to exist so that it can be investigated.

It cannot be stressed too much that plants taken from the wild, and put in a shadehouse are in an artificial growing medium with an unnaturally relatively stable temperature, supply of water and nutrients, etc…

There are huge frozen seedbanks in Norwegian tunnels for the founder seeds of large numbers of the world's plant species. But Clivia seeds have a very short life span and cannot be conserved in this way. Researchers at the University of Kwa Zulul Natal are currently developing techniques of dissecting the live embryo from the seed, snap freezing it and storing it indefinitely in liquid nitrogen.

There is no alternative to preserving the habitat (ie. the complete eco-system containing the wild plant). Obviously it would not be practical to preserve all of it, but the biodiverse “hot spots” at least require urgent total protection. It has been the custom for at least 2000 years for native people to take wild Clivia plants for spiritual and medicinal reasons, and some seventy percent of all South Africans currently depend on traditional plants like the Clivia. Until recently, this practice has not been a threat, but with multiplying human populations, and a greatly reduced area of habitat, it now is.

These “hot spots” cannot be locked up like Australia's National Parks because of the proximity of native villages. But the local villagers can be paid to protect “their” clivias from raids by bus loads of city poachers. And this is starting to happen.

The South African government is democratically elected by its majority black population. It is understandable that this government is more concerned about the employment, health and education of their major constituents, rather than the aesthetic tastes of a very small European minority.

There are also far more members of Clivia Clubs in China than the 1500 odd worldwide membership of the Clivia Society.

In China, the Clivia is not only a popular esteemed potted plant, it is as well the basis of a growing horticultural industry, with diverse research, particularly into its medical uses. Why shouldn't South Africa do the same? At present wild plants are, (understandably), preferred for medicinal purposes to the cultivated. But is the basis of this preference being researched, and is the policing of the conservation laws being done by the former native collectors? And are the “healers” that had been using the wild plant now being involved in the marketing, both domestically and internationally?

Particularly through the schools, some South African children of mixed ethnicity are now being taught gardening, including the raising of Clivias. This is a crucial initiative by some individual Clivia Clubs, yet to be popularised by the Clivia Society across the whole country.

Above all, the Clivia Clubs in South Africa must not be so single focused on the petal colour of their plants. They must also pay some attention to the skin colour of their membership. These Clivia Clubs cannot have domestic or international credibility until they have the “rainbow” composition of most of the highly respected contemporary South African sports teams and cultural organisations.

Recently the Chairman of the Clivia Society in South Africa publicly deplored the “serious dishonesty” of some members. He was commenting on a situation where, a short time after their discovery in the wild, unique stands of Clivia varieties like 'Appleblossom' have completely disappeared - taken by unscrupulous collectors!!

When South Africa was first opened up by European farmers, any desirable plants on their land or in the surrounding bush were often planted in the home garden. Apart from some damage to unique local stands, this practice did not threaten the survival of any species, because the number of farmers was small, and the wild supply was very large.

In Australia many of our pioneer farmers saw “the land” as an enemy, and, unaware of our huge variations in climate, used the axe and the plough to “tame it”. The environmental consequences were often disastrous. Almost all of today's Australian farmers now have a deep respect for the land, and try to farm in sustainable ways. In the same way, even only a generation ago, a successful fishing trip showed the (literal) heaps of fish caught. Today, with far more fishers and far fewer fish, even the most macho TV fishing programs show “catch and release”, because worldwide, fish stocks are now down to about 10 percent of their original levels.

The great majority of South African Clivia lovers of course observe the present conservation laws. But a small powerful group still have this arrogant “pioneering” attitude of superiority - as if the flower was “created” for them to collect. They are certainly not gardeners enjoying the plant for its own sake. The obtaining of a new flower form or colour by any means at all enables them, to at least temporally feel a “winner”. “Ownership” is everything. The constitution of the plant, its origins preferred climate, habitat, etc… can all be ignored because it is now safely cocooned in a shade house. Obviously these attitudes need to be completely turned around if the energies of the Clivia Society as a whole are to contribute to the conservation of the genus.

I am currently inquiring in South Africa for the names and contact details of villages involved in Clivia protection, and schools with gardening programs. Details will be published on this site when they come to hand for the information of Australian Clivia growers.