''Calostemma purpureum'', the garland lily, is a long-lived
perennial flowering plant that is native to
South Australia,
Victoria and
New South Wales. Flowers may be cream, yellow, pink or purple. Related to the common
daffodil, garland lilies were once common in large colonies in grassy areas, in particular the plain on which the city of
Adelaide now stands. Due to urbanisation and grazing, the garland lily is now rare, only occurring in small pockets in parks on the outskirts of the city.
Leaves form from the
bulb
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
during winter, and die off during spring. The plant flowers during summer when there are no leaves. ''Calostemma purpureum'' bursts into flower in the midst of the heat of an Australian summer, when most other plants are not flowering. The flowers are purple-pink in colour forming in an
umbel of 5-10 showy flowers. They appear on a stalk around 30 centimetres long. The flowers are replaced in autumn by clusters of large, berry-like seeds. The seeds may
germinate while still on the plant. They germinate very readily but it may take three or four years before the new plant first flowers.
Image gallery
Image:P2208182 Calostemma purpureum 01.jpg , Flower head
Image:P2208182 Calostemma purpureum 03.jpg, Large colony near Gunnedah, NSW
Image:16 Calostemma purpureum - Narrabri 01.jpg, Differently coloured flowers
Image:16 Calostemma purpureum - Narrabri 02.jpg, Bicoloured flowers
Image:16 Calostemma purpureum - Narrabri 03.jpg, Field of mixed colours
Image:16 Calostemma purpureum - Narrabri 04.jpg, Developing fruit
References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q5023858
Amaryllidoideae
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Flora of South Australia
Flora of Victoria (Australia)
Plants described in 1810
Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)