Agapanthus praecox (Common agapanthus)

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Monocotyledons > Order: Asparagales > Family: Amaryllidaceae > Genus: Agapanthus

Agapanthus praecox ssp. minimus on the rocks at Storms River Mouth, Eastern Cape South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]
Agapanthus praecox flowering in summer in grassland on Bosberg above Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]	A Green-banded Swallowtail (Papilio nireus) butterfly visiting a flower of Agapanthus praecox in summer in grassland on Bosberg above Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]
The albino form of Agapanthus praecox ssp. minimus on the rocks at Storms River Mouth, Eastern Cape South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]	Agapanthus praecox ssp. minimus on the rocks at Storms River Mouth, Eastern Cape South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

Distribution and habitat

Natural distribution extends from Knysna in the Western Cape, through the Eastern Cape to southern KwaZulu-Natal. Occurs in grasslands on rocky hillsides (Pooley 1998). This is the species most commonly cultivated in gardens worldwide.

Life cycle

• Flowers from December to February (Pooley 1998).
• The photography above shows that flowers can be visited by butterflies but they are probably also visited by large bees (e.g. Xylocopa) (Manning et al. 2002).
• The fruit of Agapanthus is a three-angled capsule containing flat, black winged seeds. Seed dispersal is presumably mainly by wind?
• Leaves are evergreen (Leighton 1965), which seems to be a characteristic of Agapanthus species that grow in regions with relatively moist winters.

Chemistry

See under Agapanthus.

Uses

As for Chemistry, see under Agapanthus.

Publications

• Leighton F.M. 1965. The genus Agapanthus L'Hérit. Journal of South African Botany Suppl. 4: 1-50.

• Manning J., Goldblatt P. and Snijman D. 2002. The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs. Timber Press, Portland.

• Pooley, E. 1998. A Field Guide to Wild Flowers KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region. Natal Flora Publications Trust, Durban.

Text by Hamish Robertson