Agapanthus africanus (Cape agapanthus)

Agapanthus africanus (Cape 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 africanus flowering in summer, a year after a burn on the Cape Peninsula mountains, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]


Left: a dark-flowered form of Agapanthus africanus flowering in summer on the Cape Peninsula mountains, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©] Top right: Agapanthus africanus flowering in summer after a burn in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, Western Cape, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©] Bottom right: a pale form of Agapanthus africanus flowering in summer on the Cape Peninsula mountains, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

Distribution and habitat

Occurs in fynbos on rocky, sandy slopes, from Cape Peninsula to Swellendam in the Western Cape, South Africa (Manning et al. 2002, Goldblatt and Manning 2000).

Subspecies

Agapanthus africanus ssp. africanus. Flowers and flower stalks (pedicels) erect. This is the main subspecies found from Cape Town to Swellendam.
Agapanthus africanus ssp. walshii. Flowers and flower stalks drooping, an adaptation for bird pollination. Until recently this was regarded as a full species but the paper by Zonneveld and Duncan (2003) has recommended otherwise. This subspecies is found on rocky sandstone parts of the Steenbras mountains and flowers profusely only after fire (Bean and Johns 2005).

Life cycle

Flowers from December to April, mainly after fire (Manning et al. 2002, Goldblatt and Manning 2000).
Flowers of subspecies africanus are visited by large bees, particularly carpenter bees (Xylocopa) whereas those of subspecies walshii are visited by sunbirds (Manning et al. 2002).
The fruit is a three-angled capsule containing flat, black winged seeds (Manning et al. 2002). As they grow on windy slopes, the fruiting head is fairly high above ground level (up to 70 cm) and they have winged seeds, presumably seed dispersal is mainly by wind?
Leaves are retained throughout the year (evergreen) whereas summer-rainfall Agapanthus species tend to have deciduous leaves (Leighton 1965).

Chemistry

See under Agapanthus. Many references to Agapanthus africanus in the past were referring to the species in the broad sense, which included what are now considered a number of separate species. For this reason it has been considered best to review Chemistry and Uses for the genus as a whole.

Uses

As for Chemistry, see under Agapanthus.

Publications

Bean, A. and Johns, A. 2005. Stellenbosch to Hermanus. South African Wild Flower Guide 5. Second Revised Edition. Botanical Society of South Africa, Cape Town.
Goldblatt P. and Manning J. 2000. Cape Plants - A Conspectus of the Cape Flora of South Africa. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Missouri.
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.
van Wyk B.E., Oudtshoorn B. and Gericke N. 2000. Medicinal Plants of South Africa. 2nd edition. Briza Publications, Pretoria.
Veale D.J.H., Havlik I., Oliver D.W. and Dekker T.G. 1999. Pharmacological effects of Agapanthus africanus on the isolated rat uterus. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 66(3): 257-262. doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(98)00224-4
Zonneveld B.J.M. and Duncan G.D. 2003. Taxonomic implications of genome size and pollen colour and vitality for species of Agapanthus L'Heritier (Agapanthaceae). Plant Syst. Evol. 241: 115-123.
Kamara B.I., Manong D.T.L. and Brandt E.V. 2005. Isolation and synthesis of a dimeric dihydrochalcone from Agapanthus africanus. Phytochemistry 66(10): 1126-1132. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2005.04.007