Crinum

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Monocots > Asparagales > Amaryllidaceae  >  Crinum  

Other links:    

Plant  information

Common name:                . . .  

Conservation status:  . . .

Etymology:   

• Crinum  Greek, krinon, for white lily,  River lily

Flowers:                  

• Large showy flowers on leafless stems

Fruit:                         

Leaves:         

• Basal, typically long and strap-shaped, with colours ranging from light green to green

Stem & branches: 

• Leafless stems   

Roots:         

•  Develop from bulbs

Habit:        

Habitat:   

• They are found in seasonally moist areas, including marshes, swamps, depressions and along the sides of streams and lakes 

Distribution:                  

• In tropical and subtropical areas worldwide

Species:                     

• World:          ~180 

• Australia:            5  

Additional notes:     

• Polyploidy

  • Cytological studies have shown some 27 species of Crinum to be diploid with a normal chromosome count of 2n = 22. Abilio Fernandes found that the Orange River Crinum bulbispermum had a count of 2n = 66, and some desert Crinum macowanii 2n = 44.

  • These polyploid species produce seeds that are often parthenogenetic triploid or diploids, lack vigour and seldom grow to mature plants

• Taxonomy

  • Main article: List of Crinum species (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Crinum_species)

  • As of July 2014, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families lists 105 species of Crinum. Amongst these are:

    • Crinum americanum L. – southern swamplily, seven sisters

    • Crinum asiaticum L. – poisonbulb

    • Crinum bulbispermum (Burm.f.) Milne-Redh. & Schweick. – hardy swamplily

    • Crinum latifolium L.

    • Crinum macowanii Baker

    • Crinum moorei Hook.f.

    • Crinum pedunculatum R.Br., syn. C. asiaticum var. pedunculatum – swamplily, river lily or spider lily

    • Crinum thaianum Schulze – onion plant

    • Crinum viviparum (Lam.) R.Ansari & V.J.Nair – Indian Subcontinent to Indo-China

• Formerly placed here

  • Agapanthus africanus (L.) Hoffmanns. (as C. africanum L.)

  • Ammocharis heterostyla (Bullock) Milne-Redh. & Schweick. (as C. heterostylum Bullock)

  • Cyrtanthus angustifolius (L.f.) Aiton (as C. angustifolius L.f.)

  • Cyrtanthus elatus (Jacq.) Traub (as C. speciosum L.f.)

  • Cyrtanthus obliquus (L.f.) Aiton (as C. obliquum L.f.)

  • Hippeastrum argentinum (Pax) Hunz. (as C. argentinum Pax)

  • Urceolina urceolata (Ruiz & Pav.) Asch. & Graebn. (as C. urceolatum Ruiz & Pav.)

• Hybrids

  • Amarcrinum hybridised with Amaryllis

  • C. × powellii[5] (garden hybrid between C. bulbispermum and C. moorei) - pale pink, fragrant, lily-like flowers produced in late summer

  • C. × powellii 'Album'[6] (white flowered cultivar)

• Uses

  • Several species are used in aquariums and in aquascaping

  • These include Crinum calamistratum, Crinum malabaricum, Crinum natans, and Crinum thaianum

• What is Crinum?

  • Crinum (Crinum spp.) is a bulbous perennial that is evergreen in warmer climates

  • Part of the Amaryllidaceae family it is native to South Africa, North America, South America and Australia

  • There are 5 species native to Australia and Crinum pedunculatum is the most common, also known as the Swamp Lily

  •  There are many different species of Crinum with most found through tropical or subtropical areas

  • During Spring, Crinum will start to produce foliage which is thick and strappy in shape which forms a clumping habit

  • The flower spike will emerge in Summer through to Autumn

  • It will push through the foliage on a strong tall flower stem

  • The flowers are trumpet shaped and look similar to lilies

  • Flower colours can be pink or white and maybe fragrant depending on variety

  • When planting crinum they prefer a full sun to part shade position in the garden that has rich and well drained soil

  • They are drought tolerant once established and will tolerate light frosts

  • They need to be shelter from heavy frosts

  • Crinums don’t like being transplanted and take time to become establish

• Benefits of Growing Crinum

  • Crinum are suitable for planting in garden beds, borders, mass planting, pots and containers

  • They have a large and mildly fragrant flower

  • Crinum generally tolerant of a wide range of soils and are a long lived bulb that do best in a permanent position in the garden

From: https://www.gardenexpress.com.au/growing-guide/crinum-growing-guide/

Sources of information:

• (2023) 

Australian species:

• Crinum angustifolium  ANBG Field Lily Native to northern Australia

• Crinum flaccidum ANBG Darling lily, Murray lily or Macquarie lily Native to inland Australia

• Crinum pedunculatum ANBG Swamp Lily, river lily or mangrove lily In stream and tidal areas NT, Qld & NSW