Ornamental lilies

Ornamental lilies
	African African Lily ( Agapanthus africanus ), inflorescence
Systematics
Class :	Bedecktsamer (Magnoliopsida)
	Monocots
Order :	Asparagales (Asparagales)
Family :	Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)
Subfamily :	African lily plants
Genre :	Ornamental lilies
Scientific name of the subfamily
	Agapanthoideae
	Final
Scientific name of the genus
	Agapanthus
	L'Hér.

Ornamental lilies ( Agapanthus ) are the only plant genus of the subfamily of the ornamental lily plants (Agapanthoideae) in the family Amaryllis plants (Amaryllidaceae) within the order of the asparagus (Asparagales). The common name love flowers is the literal translation of the botanical generic name Agapanthus .

Description and ecology

Illustration from Curtis 1800 of the African African Lily ( Agapanthus africanus )

When Agapanthus type settings 'White Heaven' opens the burgeoning in inflorescence, the bracts are clearly visible

Fruit cluster with ripe, opened capsule fruits and seeds of Agapanthus praecox

Appearance and leaves

Agapanthus species are perennial herbaceous plants . The two species Agapanthus africanus , Agapanthus praecox are evergreen and the four species Agapanthus campanulatus , Agapanthus caulescens , Agapanthus coddii , Agapanthus inapertus are deciduous. They form rhizomes as persistence organs. The basal, alternate and more or less two-row leaves are simple, sessile and have parallel veins. The leaf margin is smooth.

Inflorescence and flowers

The hollow, leafless inflorescence stem is 50 to 100 centimeters long. The terminal, Doldige total inflorescence is from zymösen composed part of inflorescences, it is of spathaähnlichen bracts surround and contains many flowers. The flower stalks are 5 to 8 inches long.

The hermaphrodite flowers are threefold and radially symmetrical . The six identical bracts are usually blue, purple or white and fused at their base. There are two circles with three fertile stamens each, which are more or less the same in shape. The stamens are connected to the base of the bracts and free from each other. The dust bags open with a longitudinal slit. The three carpels are fused to form an upper, three- chamber ovary. Each ovary chamber contains 20 to 50 mostly campylotropic or rarely anatropic ovules . The stylus ends in a cephalic scar. There are septal nectaries . The pollination is effected by insects ( Entomophilie ).

Fruits and seeds

The triple, loculicidal capsule fruits contain many (20 to 100) seeds. The black seeds are oily.

Sets of chromosomes

The pure Agapanthus species have diploidy with a chromosome number of 2n = 30.

Distribution map of the genus Agapanthus

Systematics and distribution

Tube-flowered African Lily ( Agapanthus inapertus )

Agapanthus praecox in Madeira

Habitus and inflorescence of Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis

The genus Agapanthus was established in 1788 by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle . Synonyms for Agapanthus L'Hér. are: Tulbaghia Heist. nom. rej ., Abumon Adans. , Mauhlia Dahl . The generic name Agapanthus is derived from the Greek words agapé for love and anthos blossom.

A synonym for Agapanthoideae Endl. is Agapanthaceae F. Voigt .

The distribution area of the genus Agapanthus extends in southern Africa from Mozambique to South Africa . One species is a neophyte in Madeira , for example .

According to Snoeijer 2004, the six species of the genus Agapanthus accepted by him are divided into two sections (Zonneveld & Duncan 2003):

Section Lilacinipollini Zonn. & GDDuncan : The pollen is purple in color . In 2004 it contains the three species Agapanthus campanulatus , Agapanthus caulescens and Agapanthus coddii .

Section Ochraceipollini Zonn. & GDDuncan : The pollen is yellow. In 2004 it contains the three species Agapanthus africanus , Agapanthus inapertus and Agapanthus praecox . Agapanthus walshii would also be added if it was not assessed as a subspecies of Agapanthus africanus .

There are about seven Agapanthus species (some authors also differentiate more or less):

African African Lily ( Agapanthus africanus (L.) Hoffmanns. , Syn .: Agapanthus umbellatus L'Hér. , Agapanthus tuberosus L. ex Redouté pro syn., Agapanthus minor G.Lodd. ): It occurs only in the South African province of Western Cape .
Bell-shaped African Lily ( Agapanthus campanulatus F.M.Leight. ): There are two subspecies:
- Agapanthus campanulatus F.M.Leight. subsp. campanulatus : It thrives at lower altitudes in Lesotho and in the South African provinces of Eastern Cape , Free State and KwaZulu-Natal .
- Agapanthus campanulatus subsp. patens (FMLeight.) FMLeight. (Syn .: Agapanthus patens F.M.Leight. ): It thrives at altitudes of up to 2,400 meters in Lesotho and in the South African provinces of Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng , KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga .
Agapanthus caulescens Spreng. : There are three subspecies:
- Agapanthus caulescens Spreng. subsp. caulescens : It occurs in Swaziland .
- Agapanthus caulescens subsp. angustifolius F.M. Light. : It occurs in Swaziland and in the South African provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
- Agapanthus caulescens subsp. gracilis (FMLeight.) FMLeight. (Syn .: Agapanthus gracilis F.M.Leight. , Agapanthus nutans F.M.Leight. ): It is found in the South African provinces of Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Agapanthus coddii F.M.Leight. : This rare endemic only occurs in a very small area in the South African province of Limpopo.
Tubular African Lily ( Agapanthus inapertus P.Beauv. ): There are five subspecies:
- Agapanthus inapertus subsp. hollandii (FMLeight.) FMLeight. (Syn .: Agapanthus hollandii F.M.Leight. ): It occurs only in the South African province of Mpumalanga.
- Agapanthus inapertus P.Beauv. subsp. inapertus (Syn .: Agapanthus weilligii H.B.May ): It occurs in the South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
- Agapanthus inapertus subsp. intermedius F.M.Leight. (Syn .: Agapanthus dyeri F.M.Leight. ): It is distributed in isolated areas in southwestern Mozambique (near Namaachas) and Swaziland, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
- Agapanthus inapertus subsp. parviflorus F.M. Light. : It occurs only in the South African province of Mpumalanga.
- Agapanthus inapertus subsp. pendulus (L.Bolus) FMLeight. (Syn .: Agapanthus pendulus L.Bolus ): It occurs only in the South African province of Mpumalanga.
Agapanthus praecox Willd. : Its natural range is South Africa; she is a neophyte in Madeira, for example. There are three subspecies:
- Agapanthus praecox subsp. minimus (Lindl.) FMLeight. (Syn .: Agapanthus umbellatus var. Minimus Lindl. , Agapanthus longispathus F.M.Leight. , Agapanthus comptonii F.M.Leight. ): It is widespread in the South African provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern and Western Cape.
- Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis (FMLeight.) FMLeight. (Syn .: Agapanthus orientalis F.M.Leight. , Agapanthus umbellatus var. Maximus Lindl. ): It is distributed in the South African provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern and Western Cape.
- Agapanthus praecox Willd. subsp. praecox (Syn .: Agapanthus multiflorus Willd. , Agapanthus medius Lodd. ex Steud. , Agapanthus variegatus Steud. , Agapanthus giganteus auct.): It is widespread in the South African provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern and Western Cape.
Agapanthus walshii L.Bolus (Syn .: Agapanthus africanus subsp. Walshii (L.Bolus) Zonn. & GDDuncan ): This endemic occurs only at a maximum of five locations on slopes of the Elgin Valley over sandstone in the Western Cape. In 2004 it was the only Agapanthus species in the Red List of Threatened Species to be rated as “Endangered”, as the few populations are declining due to the expansion of settlements.

In the Red List of Endangered Plant Species in South Africa, almost all species and subspecies are rated as “Least Concern” = “not endangered”. One species is rare, but because the site is protected, it is not considered endangered. Only one species is rated as “Endangered” = “critically endangered”. A subspecies is not rated in this list because it does not occur in South Africa.

Agapanthus praecox different flower colors of the Praecox group

Inflorescence of the cultivar 'Blue Giant' from the Praecox group

Use as an ornamental plant

The evergreen species are less hardy than those that decline in winter, the latter being considered hardy in the UK.

Many varieties of some species, for example Agapanthus africanus , Agapanthus campanulatus , Agapanthus inapertus (see also groups of varieties), are used as ornamental plants for parks, gardens and cut flowers . Since they are not hardy in the temperate areas , they are cultivated there as container plants . There are many hybrids .

Varieties (selection)

The cultivated varieties are divided into groups according to their botanical affiliation:

Africanus group
Praecox group
Campanulatus group
Inapertus group
Headburne hybrids

There are some varieties that are suitable as cut flowers (here a selection in alphabetical order without regard to the botanical affiliation to the individual species): 'Albus',' Blue Giant ',' Blue Globe ',' Blue Perfection ',' Blue Triumphator ',' Danube ',' Josephine ',' Goliath ',' Intermedia ',' Volga '.

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The subfamily Agapanthoideae on the AP website. (Sections systematics and description)
J. Gathe, Leslie Watson, 2008: Agapanthus in the Western Australian Flora online. (Section description)
Wim Snoeijer: Agapanthus A revision of the genus. Timber Press, Portland, OR, USA, 2004, ISBN 978-0-88192-631-6 . Full text PDF. (Section systematics)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Wim Snoeijer: Agapanthus A revision of the genus. Timber Press, Portland, OR, USA, 2004, ISBN 978-0-88192-631-6 . Full text PDF.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Agapanthus. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved October 2, 2014.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Species list for Agapanthus in the Red List of South African Plants
↑ ^a ^b ^c Walter Erhardt, Erich Götz, Nils Bödeker, Siegmund Seybold: The great pikeperch. Encyclopedia of Plant Names. Volume 2. Types and varieties. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7 .
↑ telegraph.co.uk .
↑ Gordon Cheers (Ed.): Botanica. The ABC of plants. 10,000 species in text and images . Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft, 2003, ISBN 3-8331-1600-5 (therein page 64).
^ ^A ^b Murray Dawson, Kerry Ford: Agapanthus in New Zealand. Full text PDF.