Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis
Common name
agapanthus, lily of the Nile
Family
Alliaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
AGAPSO
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Features
Robust, clump-forming perennial. Rhizomes thick, long, white. Leaves 20-70 x 2-6 cm, leathery, arching, arising from base in clumps up to 20, sap watery. Flowers small, purplish-blue or white, in many-flowered umbrella-shaped clusters 7 x 5 cm, Dec-Feb. Seeds thin, papery, black.
Similar taxa
Easily identified by the fleshy, strap-like green leave and large blue or white flowers.
Flowering
December, January, February
Flower colours
Blue, White
Life cycle
Perennial.
Year naturalised
1952
Origin
South Africa
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
The plant can survive mowing, grazing, insects and sprays.
Etymology
agapanthus: From the Greek agape, meaning ‘love’, and anthos, meaning ‘flower’, translating broadly as the flower of love.
orientalis: From the Latin orientale, meaning ‘eastern’ but sometimes also translated as ‘from the Orient’.