Eucomis zambesiaca
Common name
Pineapple lily ‘Tiny Piny Sweetie’
Synonyms
Apparently often misidentified as E. autumnalis in nurseries, but E. autumnalis is a different species which has has more undulate leaves, the flowers are in a shorter compressed spike and the leafy bracts of the ‘pineapple top’ are longer than the width of the inflorescence and hang over it.
Family
Hyacinthaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
Conservation status
Not applicable
Brief description
Bulbous; deciduous; leaves plain green, erect to decumbent with slightly undulate margins; flower spikes erect 25-30 cm, unspotted green, with white flowers and ‘pineapple top’ of leaves barely as wide as the flower spike.
Distribution
Found self-sowing in large garden near Fordell, Whanganui in 2018.
Similar taxa
Apparently often misidentified as E. autumnalis in nurseries, but E. autumnalis is a different species which has has more undulate leaves, the flowers are in a shorter compressed spike and the leafy bracts of the ‘pineapple top’ are longer than the width of the inflorescence and hang over it.
Flower colours
Green, White
Life cycle
Self-seeds - the first record of it naturalising in NZ was near Fordell, Whanganui
Propagation technique
Division or seed
Year naturalised
2018
Origin
South Africa (the ‘Tiny Piny’ cultivars were first bred in NZ, see below)
Reason for introduction
ornamental
Etymology
eucomis: From the Greek eukomus ‘beautiful haired’, referring to the leafy tuft surmounting the flower spike.