Zambia/Barotseland: Liuwa Plain NP – Sand Lilies & Other Wildflowers
Come to Liuwa after the first rains and you can witness a spectacle of blooming sand lillies. Huge fireballs of red and white flowers cover the sandy soil, and in some places actually form red carpets. The plant, Crinum buphanoides in Latin, has a massive underground bulb the size of a turnip that lies dormant for most of the year and then springs to life with the arrival of first rains – red, white, rose, and all possibly color variations in between. The scenery is absolutely unique, and would easily rival wildflower displays in Death Valley in the USA, Namaqualand in South Africa, or annual bloom in Western Australia. Sand lillies are the most spectacular and widespread here, but there is plenty of other awesome and rare wildflowers here. It’s a total lily paradise here – with the Liliaceae family being the most represented – tumbleweed Lilly us massive balls of red flowers, while the spider lily looks like a fragile Christmas decorations. And we also found one orchid – Foxglove orchid – a rare sighting.
