Agapanthus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| iAgapanthus | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Agapanthus flower
| ||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| | ||||||||||||
|
See text |
Agapanthus is a genus of between six and ten species of herbaceous perennial plants native to South Africa. They are treated either in the family Alliaceae, or separated into their own monogeneric family Agapanthaceae (e.g. Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vascularium).
Members of the genus have funnel-shaped flowers, which show diverse bluish colours. They occur in many-flowered cymes on long, erect stems, which can grow up 1 m long. The basal leaves are curved, lanceolate, and are up to 60 cm long.
[edit] Species
Zonneveld & Duncan (2003) classified Agapanthus into six species (A. africanus, A. campanulatus, A. caulescens, A. coddii, A. inapertus, A. praecox). Four additional taxa recognised by Leighton (1965) as species (A. comptonii, A. dyeri, A. nutans, A. walshii) are given status below species rank by Zonneveld & Duncan.
- Agapanthus africanus (syn. A. umbellatus; African Lily or African Tulip)
- Agapanthus campanulatus (African bluebell, African Blue lily or Bell Agapanthus)
- Agapanthus caulescens
- Agapanthus coddii (Codd's Agapanthus or Blue Lily)
- Agapanthus comptonii
- Agapanthus dyeri
- Agapanthus inapertus (Drakensberg Agapanthus or Drooping Agapanthus)
- Agapanthus nutans
- Agapanthus praecox
- Agapanthus walshii
[edit] Cultivation and uses
Agapanthus africanus can be grown within USDA plant hardiness zones 9 to 11. In lower-numbered zones, it is recommended to plant the bulbs more deeply and mulch well. Agapanthus can be propagated by dividing the bulbs, but the seed of most varieties are fertile.
Several hundred cultivars and hybrids are cultivated as garden and landscape plants. Several are winter-hardy to USDA Zone 7.
Agapanthus africanus |
Agapanthus praecox |
Closeup of an Agapanthus flower |
Agapanthus in a pot |
Agapanthus flower |
Agapanthus flower (side view) |
Agapanthus flower (top view) |
Agapanthus flower shoot |
Agapanthus africanus from Curtis's Botanical Magazine (1800) |
[edit] References
- Leighton, F. M. (1965). The Genus Agapanthus L'Heritier. J. South African Botany, supplementary volume IV.
- Snoeijer W (2004) Agapanthus A Revision of the Genus. ISBN 0-88192-631-0
- Zonneveld, B. J. M. & Duncan, G. D. (2003). Taxonomic implications of genome size and pollen colour and vitality for species of Agapanthus L'Heritier (Agapanthaceae). Plant Syst. Evol. 241: 115-123.
- PlantZAfrica: Agapanthus africanus
- Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vasculariumde:Schmucklilien
it:Agapanthus ja:アガパンサス属 nl:Afrikaanse lelie sv:Agapanthus zh:百子蓮
