All Topics  
Agapanthus

 
Agapanthus

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Agapanthus
 
 
  Topics Agapanthus Topic Home

Agapanthus ("Lily of the Nile") is a genus of flower plants with six to ten species depending on how the different species are classified. They are all herbaceous
Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaf and stem that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. A herbaceous plant may be Annual plant, Biennial plant or Perennial plant....
 perennial plant
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
s native to South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
. They have been placed either in the family Alliaceae
Alliaceae

Alliaceae is a Family of herbaceous perennial plant flowering plants. They are monocots, part of Order Asparagales. The family has been widely but not universally recognised; in the past, the plants involved were often treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae, and still are by some botanists....
, or separated into their own monogeneric family Agapanthaceae
Agapanthaceae

Agapanthaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The sole included genus, and the one from which the family takes its name, is Agapanthus....
 (e.g. Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vascularium).

Members of the genus have funnel-shaped flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s, in varying shades of blue colors with white flowering forms occurring.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Agapanthus'
Start a new discussion about 'Agapanthus'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Agapanthus ("Lily of the Nile") is a genus of flower plants with six to ten species depending on how the different species are classified. They are all herbaceous
Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaf and stem that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. A herbaceous plant may be Annual plant, Biennial plant or Perennial plant....
 perennial plant
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
s native to South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
. They have been placed either in the family Alliaceae
Alliaceae

Alliaceae is a Family of herbaceous perennial plant flowering plants. They are monocots, part of Order Asparagales. The family has been widely but not universally recognised; in the past, the plants involved were often treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae, and still are by some botanists....
, or separated into their own monogeneric family Agapanthaceae
Agapanthaceae

Agapanthaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The sole included genus, and the one from which the family takes its name, is Agapanthus....
 (e.g. Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vascularium).

Members of the genus have funnel-shaped flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s, in varying shades of blue colors with white flowering forms occurring. The species have been hybridized to produce additional colors in plants under cultivation. The flowers are produced in many-flowered cyme
Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches....
s on long, erect stems called scapes, which can grow up 1 m long. The basal leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are curved, lanceolate, and are up to 60 cm long.

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
    Agapanthus africanus

    Agapanthus africanus is a member of the family Alliaceae and a native of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. It is sometimes know as plum plum by native South Africans ....
     (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
    Agapanthus inapertus

    Agapanthus inapertus, is a species of Agapanthus, native to open grasslands, forest margins and mountainous, rocky areas of South Africa....
     (Drakensberg Agapanthus or Drooping Agapanthus)
  • Agapanthus nutans
  • Agapanthus orientalis
  • Agapanthus praecox
    Agapanthus praecox

    Agapanthus praecox is a plant species in the family Alliaceae and a native of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Local names for this species include agapant, bloulelie, isicakathi and ubani....
     (Common Agapanthus, Blue Lily, African Lily, or Lily of the Nile)
  • Agapanthus walshii


Cultivation and uses

Agapanthus africanus can be grown within USDA plant hardiness zones 9 to 11. In lower-numbered zones, the bulbs should be placed deeper in the soil and mulched well in the fall. Agapanthus can be propagated by dividing the bulbs or by seeds, the seeds of most varieties are fertile.

Several hundred cultivar
Cultivar

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when Plant propagation it retains those characteristics....
s and hybrids are cultivated as garden and landscape plants. Several are winter-hardy to USDA Zone 7.