Eucomis

''Eucomis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, native to southern Africa. Most species of this genus are commonly referred to as pineapple flowers or pineapple lilies. They are bulbous perennials with basal rosettes of leaves and stout stems covered in star-shaped flowers with a tuft of green bracts at the top, superficially resembling a pineapple – hence the common names.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Eucomis'' was first published by Charles L'Héritier in 1789. The name ''Eucomis'' is of Greek origin, ''eu-'' meaning "pleasing" and ''kome'' "hair of the head", thus referring to the tuft of leaf-like bracts that crown the inflorescence of the species in this genus. The name was first used by Daniel Solander, who decided that Linnaeus's ''Fritillaria regia'' should be placed in a separate genus. However, Solander died before publishing the name, and was not mentioned by L'Héritier in his 1789 publication. Initially, three species were placed in ''Eucomis'': '' E. regia'', ''E. nana'' and ''E. punctata''. (The last two are now synonyms of ''E. regia'' and ''E. comosa'' respectively.)

Classification

''Eucomis'' is placed in the subfamily Scilloideae of the family Asparagaceae by those who use the APG system of plant classification, and in the family Hyacinthaceae by those who use more narrowly defined families. Using the subfamily Scilloideae, ''Eucomis'' is placed in the tribe Hyacintheae, subtribe Massoniinae, along with such genera as ''Lachenalia'', ''Ledebouria'', ''Massonia'' and ''Veltheimia''.

The species can be divided into two groups. One consists of seven mainly short, diploid species with 2''n'' = 2''x'' = 30 chromosomes: ''E. amaryllidifolia'', ''E. bicolor'', ''E. grimshawii'', ''E. regia'', ''E. schijffii'', ''E. vandermerwei'' and ''E. zambesiaca''. The other consists of five mainly larger, tetraploid species with 2''n'' = 4''x'' = 60 chromosomes: ''E. autumnalis'', ''E. comosa'', ''E. humilis'', ''E. montana'' and ''E. pallidiflora''. The ploidy of ''E. sonnetteana'' is not known.

Species

The genus includes 13 accepted species.

* ''Eucomis amaryllidifolia'' – South Africa
* ''Eucomis autumnalis'' (Mill.) Chitt. (syn. ''E. undulata'' Aiton) – South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini
* ''Eucomis bicolor'' Baker – South Africa, Lesotho
* ''Eucomis comosa'' (Houtt.) Wehrh. (syns. ''E. punctata'' L'Hér., ''E. striata'' (Ker Gawl.) W.T.Aiton) – South Africa
* ''Eucomis grimshawii'' G.D.Duncan & Zonn. – South Africa
* ''Eucomis humilis'' Baker – South Africa, Lesotho
* ''Eucomis montana'' Compton – South Africa, Eswatini
* ''Eucomis pallidiflora'' Baker (syn. ''E. pole-evansii'' N.E.Br.) South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini
* ''Eucomis regia'' (L.) L'Hér. – South Africa
* ''Eucomis schijffii'' Reyneke – South Africa, Lesotho
* '' Eucomis sonnetteana'' N.R.Crouch, Mart.-Azorín & J.E.Burrows – Mpumalanga
* '' Eucomis vandermerwei'' Verd. – Mpumalanga
* '' Eucomis zambesiaca'' Baker – Malawi, Zimbabwe, Limpopo

Eucomis autumnalis flower.jpg, ''Eucomis autumnalis''
Eucomis bicolor 01.jpg, ''Eucomis bicolor''
Eucomis_comosa_001.JPG, ''Eucomis comosa''
Eucomis 02.JPG, ''Eucomis montana''
Eucomis pallidiflora 150915.jpg, ''Eucomis pallidiflora'' subsp. ''pole-evansii''
Eucomis regia subsp. pillansii (Hyacinthaceae) (36689665013).jpg, ''Eucomis regia''
Eucomis vandermerwei00.jpg, ''Eucomis vandermerwei''
Eucomis zambesiaca 01.jpg, ''Eucomis zambesiaca''

Distribution and habitat

''Eucomis'' is native to South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Species can be found in grassland, forest, swamps and on river banks, but are absent from the drier regions. The smaller species are more often found at higher elevations, on hilltops or other exposed places; the larger species favour less exposed habitats, such as damp gulleys and streamsides.

Cultivation

''Eucomis'' species are cultivated as ornamental plants. Most of the summer-flowering species will tolerate frost down to when dormant in winter, provided they are kept dry. They flower best if given both sun exposure and moisture in summer. ''Eucomis regia'' grows in winter and flowers in early spring. It needs greenhouse cultivation in regions that, like Britain, have a maritime rather than a Mediterranean climate.

See also

* List of plants known as lily

References

Bibliography

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External links

* Pacific bulb society wik


{{Taxonbar, from=Q2706641

Scilloideae
Flora of Southern Africa
Asparagaceae genera