''Nerine bowdenii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. It is an

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

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 ...

ous perennial, growing to tall by , with strap-shaped leaves and large umbels of lily-like pink flowers in late summer and autumn. The common names of the species are Cornish lily, Cape flower, Guernsey lily, and Bowden lily. However, it is neither a true lily nor from Cornwall or Guernsey, but originates from South Africa (

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

, KwaZulu Natal, Free State, Drakensberg Mountains). Confusingly the name “Guernsey lily” is also applied to a related species, '' Nerine sarniensis''. The species was named in 1904 after

Athelstan Cornish-Bowden Athelstan Hall Cornish-Bowden was a land surveyor active in South Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. Cornish-Bowden was the seventh of the 12 children of Admiral William Bowden and Elizabeth Anne Cornish. He attended St. Andrew's College, ...

who had sent bulbs of the plant to England from South Africa.

Description

''N. bowdenii'' bulbs are in circumference. The bulbs are "shaped like old-fashioned Chianti bottles". The plant has eight or more faintly-scented bright pink flowers with frilly tips, resembling finely-cut lilies. Because the leaves do not appear until spring, the species can tolerate lower temperatures than most species in the genus ''

Nerine ''Nerine'' (nerines, Guernsey lily, Jersey lily, spider lily) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family (biology), family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. They are bulbous perennial plant, perennials, some evergreen, asso ...

''.

Cultivation

''Nerine bowdenii'' is widely cultivated in temperate regions, where it requires warmth and shelter in colder areas, but is quite

hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, Sout ...

, being able to withstand temperatures of . It needs to be planted where it cannot be disturbed for several years, and blooms best when the bulbs are crowded. The species grows best in heat and well-drained soil. However, it will not tolerate tropical or very humid weather. It is suggested that colchicums and

cyclamens ''Cyclamen'' ( or ) is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. ''Cyclamen'' species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They grow ...

are good choices of companion plants to grow with this species.

Cultivars

The following cultivars have won the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

:- * ''Nerine bowdenii'' (pink) * 'Isabel' (deep pink) * 'Quinton Wells' (bright pink) * 'Stefanie' (pale pink, recurved petals) * 'Zeal Giant' (deep salmon pink)

Biochemistry

The bulbs of ''Nerine bowdenii'' contain

ungeremine Ungeremine is a betaine-type alkaloid isolated from ''Nerine bowdenii'' and related plants such as ''Pancratium maritimum''. Pharmacologically, it is of interest as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and accordingly as possibly relevant to Alzheim ...

, a betaine-type alkaloid, and a number of other alkaloids. Ungeremine is an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, and as such may be of interest in research into treatment of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. Ungeremine also has been isolated from a number of related plant species, such as '' Ungernia minor'', ''

Ungernia spiralis ''Ungernia'' is a genus of bulb-forming plants in the Amaryllis family, native to central and south-central Asia Asia (Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan). ;Species *''Ungernia badghysi'' Botsch ...

'', '' Zephyranthes flava'', '' Crinum asiaticum'', '' Crinum augustum'', '' Pancratium maritimum'' and '' Hippeastrum solandriflorum''.

Diseases

The plant virus, vallota mosaic virus, has been found to infect ''Nerine bowdenii'' and other members of the genus ''Nerine'' in the UK.

References