HYMENOCALLIS

Hymenocallis Salisb., Trans. Hort. Soc. London 1: 338. 1812; Smith & Flory, Fl. North Amer. @ eFloras.org 26: 283.

Herbs, perennial, scapose, bulbiferous, bulb ovoid or globose, tunicate. Leaves 2-16, deciduous or evergreen, sessile, rarely petiolate; blade usually liguliform or oblanceolate, rarely ovate to elliptic. Spathe bracts 2-3, Inflorescence umbellate with 1-16 flowers, each flower with subtending, often narrowly lanceolate bract. Spathe bracts 2, triangular, ovate or lanceolate, enclosing young flowers. Flowers usually sessile, erect or slightly diverging, large and star-like, fragrant. Tepals 6, connate basally into short or long tube, surmounted by conspicuous staminal corona; tepals extended from base of corona, free portions reflexed or ascending, often distally recurved, linear. Stamens 6, adnate basally into showy funnelform or rotate corona, margins between free portions of filaments often dentate or lacerate; portions of filaments inserted on margin of corona, erect to incurved, filiform; anthers versatile, introrse, pollens yellow, often golden or orange. Carpels 3, syncarpous; ovary inferior, globose, ovoid, oblong or pyriform, ovary trilocular 2-10 ovules per locule; style exserted beyond stamens, deflexed laterally, filiform; stigma capitate. Fruit capsular, green, subglobose to elongate, 3-locular, large, leathery. Seeds large, green, fleshy.

65 species

Hymenocallis latifolia

Hymenocallis latifolia (Mill.) M. Roem., Fam. Nat. Syn. Monogr. 4: 168. 1847; Smith & Flory, Fl. North Amer. @ eFloras.org 26: 292.

Herb, perennial, scapose, bulbiferous; bulb non rhizomatous, forming numerous bulblets, enlarging with age, tunic greyish brown. Leaves evergreen, numerous, arching outwards, spreading distally, 50-65 cm x 4-5 cm, coriaceous; blade broadly liguliform, gradually tapering proximally, apex subacute to acute. Scape 40-60 cm, flat on one side and concave on other side (half dome-shaped in C.S.) glaucous; spathe bracts 2, enclosing flowering buds, 4-7 cm x 1.5-3.5 cm; bracts subtending flowers 4-5 cm x 10-15 mm; Inflorescence an umbel of 10-15 flowers. Flowers opening sequentially, snow-white, fragrant, bisexual, actinomorphic, epigynous, trimerous. Perianth of 6 tepals, connate at the base, tube green, 9-10.5 cm long; perianth lobes extending nearly horizontally, reflexed distally, white, 7.5-13 cm x 4-6 mm. Stamens 6; adnate basally into showy funnelform white corona surmounting on perianth tube, corona 2-3 cm x 3-4 cm, margins between free portions of filaments wavy without prominent projections; free portion of filaments inserted on flat base, slightly incurved, green except becoming white near insertion, ca. 6 cm long, filiform; anthers 2-2.5 cm long, versatile, introrse, polllen orange or yellow. Carpels 3, syncarpous; ovary inferior, ovoid, 9-18 mm x 5-10 mm, 3-lobed, 3-locular; 4-7 ovules attached at the base of loculus; style green in distal 1/2 fading to white proximally, 19-22 cm long; stigma capitate.

Capsules subglobose, ca. 3 cm x 3 cm. Seeds obovoid, 1.8-2.4 cm x 1.4-1.8 cm. (Fruits not observed)

Flowering and Fruiting: July to December
Common Names: Mangrove Spider Lily, Perfumed Spider Lily, Broad-Leaf Spider Lily