Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Family: Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis)

Distribution: Western Cape: Agulhas Plain ~5 km east of Elim

Habitat: Elim Ferricrete Fynbos - Central Ruens Shale Renosterveld transition

National red list: Not Evaluated

Life form: Geophyte (bulb, corm or tuber - seasonally dormant)

Comments: This species was discovered in 2019 and formally described in 2022. The species epithet honours recent restoration of habitat in the privately conserved Nuwejaars Wetlands area.Dee Snijman who described the species considers that it should immediately be Red Listed as Endangered. With only two small patches of C. novus-annus separated by agricultural land and fewer than 250 plants found after extensive search of the area, the newly discovered species is at high risk from encroaching invasive alien plants and grazing cattle.
Unlike most Cyrtanthus that flower almost exclusively in response to fire, both the closely related C. guthrieae nor C. novus-annus flower independently of fire. Cyrtanthus guthrieae is pollinated by Aeropetes tulbaghia (Linnaeus), a large brown satyrid butterfly active in late summer, usually at high elevations (Johnson and Bond, 1994). With a similar brush-type inflorescence, C. novus- annus is also likely to be butterfly-pollinated, possibly by smaller summer-flying lycaenid butterflies.