Hypoxidaceae FAMILY Near Threatened

Hypoxis obtusa

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial

Growth—

Hypoxis species are generally not very cold tolerant plants and most species are badly damaged or killed by even light frosts. They will usually grow well in a Mediterranean type of climate with little or no frost^[1]. Species in this genus generally require a light, freely draining soil and a position in full sun or light shade^[1]. Hypoxis species greatly resent root disturbance, plants should be placed in their permanent positions as soon as possible and left ndisturbed for as long as possible^[1]. The plant commences flowering before the leaves are produced^[2]. This species occasionally hybidizes in the wild with Hypoxis rigidula^[3].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe^[3]. Division. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Hypoxis+obtusa>

Pollinators

Insects

References

[1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[2]Flora Zambesiaca — http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html ↩︎An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
[3]PlantZAfrica.com — http://www.plantzafrica.com ↩︎An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
[4]African Potato (Hypoxis Spp): Diversity and Comparison of the Phytochemical Profiles and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of — Zimudzi C. · 2014 · http://10.7324/JAPS.2014.40414 · ISBN 2231-3354 ↩︎
[5]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
[6]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
[7]Diversity of Hypoxis species used in ethnomedicine in Tanzania — Pereus D. et al · 2019 · https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.03.004 · ISBN 0254-6299 ↩︎
[8]Diversity and Conservation Through Cultivation of Hypoxis in Africa - A Case Study of Hypoxis hemerocallidea — Mofokeng M.M. et al · 2020 · http://10.3390/d12040122 ↩︎