Download Australian National Botanic Gardens

Australian National Botanic
Gardens
GROWING NATIVE PLANTS
Calostemma purpureum
Calostemma purpureum, commonly known as the Garland Lily,
belongs to the Amaryllidaceae, a large family well recognised in
horticulture for such exotic plants as the Daffodil, Belladonna
Lily and Nerines.
The family is not well represented in Australia and Calostemma
is the only wholly endemic genus.
C. purpureum is the most common member of the genus and
occurs in western New South Wales, north-western Victoria and
in South Australia. lt is well-known plant of the Riverina district,
on both flood plains and rocky ridges.
It has been grown in the Australian
National Botanic Gardens for many
years and has performed well, flowering each summer between January and March.
As with the exotic Nerines, Calostemma often flowers in a leafless state, the narrow,
shining-green, strap-like leaves usually preceding flowering and reaching a length of
25-30 cm.
Blooms are borne in an umbel of six to eighteen flowers on a leafless stem, 20-50
cm high. Flower *colour is a purplish red with a tube sometimes paler and the
anthers yellow. Each trumpet-shaped flower is held on a long, thin pedicel and
is about 2 cm long.
The plant makes an ideal rockery subject, taking up very little space but
extending its flowering stem high enough to become obvious. lt may also be
used in tight rows in more formal situations as the Nerines are often used.
Propagation is simple as the capsules often begin to shoot in storage before
sowing. The germination mechanism is complex and will not be described here.
No pests have been noted.
* RHS Colour Chart, 1966: corolla tube, red-purple group 70B paling to redpurple group 70D at base; corona, yellow-white group 158D at maturity;
anthers, yellow group 12B.
Name meaning: Calostomma purpureum
Calostemma from the Greek, kalos, beautiful, and stemma,
crown;
purpureum from the Latin, purple.
Updated 16 December, 2003 , webmaster, ANBG ([email protected])