I bought this little Drimiopsis saundersiae Sunny Smile in 2019 at a Texas Association of Cactus and Succulent Societies seminar. It was considerably different from anything else in my collection, so of course, I had to have it.

Drimiopsis saundersiae is native to South Africa and tropical Africa, although I am not sure what the difference is in those locations! It is considered a bulbous perennial herb, so it may be used for cooking there, but I could find nothing about that. In fact, I found very little information about this plant when I did my research.

What I did find said that it likes to stay warm, likes bright light, but perhaps not direct hot sunlight, and to allow it to dry between waterings. Nothing there much different from the care of most other succulents. Winter here is its period of rest, and it will lose some of its leaves. The original specimen grew well, and I decided to separate the bulbs. I am not sure what I did wrong, but I nearly lost them all!. This one managed to survive and has done well, so I will be sure to not panic when it drops its leaves when our weather changes and cut back on the watering.

This is one of the bulbs from the original plant, and it has given me my first flower.

This is a pretty little plant that you don’t see often, and I have enjoyed it. Perhaps next year I will have more blooms.

But if not, I will enjoy the unusual leaves.