Agapanthus inapertus (Drakensberg agapanthus, Drooping agapanthus)

[= Agapanthus dyeri]

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 inapertus under cultivation in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town. [photos H.G. Robertson, Iziko ©]

Distribution and habitat

Natural distribution includes northern KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo (all in South Africa), and Swaziland. Grows on forest margins, in grassland and in the mountains (Pooley 1998).

Life cycle

• Flowers from January to March (Pooley 1998).
• Flowers are pollinated by sunbirds (Manning et al. 2002 p. 53), unlike the majority of Agapanthus species, which are probably pollinated by large bees. Agapanthus africanus ssp. walshii is also pollinated by sunbirds.
• The fruit of Agapanthus is a three-angled capsule containing flat, black winged seeds. Seed dispersal is presumably mainly by wind?
• Like all summer rainfall Agapanthus, leaves are deciduous (Leighton 1965), dying back in the cold, dry winters.

Chemistry

See under Agapanthus.

Uses

As for Chemistry, see under Agapanthus.

Publications

• Duncan, G.D. 1993. Agapanthus dyeri. Flowering Plants of Africa 52: t.2062.

• 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