Clivia miniata, the Natal lily or bush lily, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clivia of the family Amaryllidaceae, native to woodland habitats in South Africa (Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces) and Eswatini. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental.
Clivia miniata has a fleshy, mostly underground stem (rhizome) to 2 cm (1 in) in diameter, with numerous fleshy roots. The stem produces long, arching, strap-like leaves growing to about 45 cm (18 in) long, arranged in two opposing rows (distichous). The showy, funnel-shaped flowers are produced in an umbel-shaped inflorescence, colored red, orange or yellow, sometimes with a faint, but very sweet perfume. The fruit is a bright-red spherical berry to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter, producing one to a few seeds.
It is sometimes known in cultivation as "Kaffir lily" (a term considered extremely offensive in South Africa). The same derogatory name is also applied to the genus Hesperantha (formerly Schizostylis).
It contains small amounts of lycorine, making it poisonous.
The genus Clivia, was named after the Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Charlotte Clive, who first cultivated the plant in England and provided the flowers for the type specimen. The Latin specific epithet miniata means “cinnabar", the color of red lead, referring to the flowers.
