''Alstroemeria'' (), commonly called the Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas, is a genus of
flowering plants in the family
Alstroemeriaceae
Alstroemeriaceae is a family of flowering plants, with 254 known species in four genera (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ), almost entirely native to the Americas, from Central America to southern South America. One species of '' Luzuriaga'' occurs in ...
. They are all native to
South America, although some have become naturalized in the
United States,
Mexico,
Australia,
New Zealand,
Madeira and the
Canary Islands. Almost all of the species are restricted to one of two distinct centers of diversity; one in central
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, the other in eastern
Brazil. Species of ''Alstroemeria'' from Chile are winter-growing plants, while those of Brazil are summer growing. All are long-lived
perennials
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
except ''A. graminea'', a diminutive
annual
Annual may refer to:
*Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
**Yearbook
**Literary annual
*Annual plant
*Annual report
*Annual giving
*Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
*Annuals (band), a ...
from the
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the w ...
of Chile.
Description
Plants of this genus grow from a cluster of
tuber
Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...
s. They send up fertile and sterile stems, the fertile stems of some species reaching in height. The leaves are alternately arranged and
resupinate
Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back
with the face upward" or "on the back". " Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward".
The wor ...
, twisted on the
petioles so that the undersides face up. The leaves are variable in shape and the blades have smooth edges. The flowers are solitary or borne in
umbels. The flower has six
petals each up to long. They come in many shades of red, orange, purple, green, and white, flecked and striped and streaked with darker colors. There are six curving
stamens. The
stigma has three lobes. The fruit is a
capsule with three valves. Alstroemeria are classified as an inferior monocot, meaning the petals are located above the
ovary
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...
and the leaf veins are parallel.
[''Alstroemeria'']
Flora of North America.
File:Alstroemeria cultivar.jpg, An ''Alstroemeria'' cultivar
File:Alstroemeria x hybrida capsule from above.jpg, ''Alstroemeria'' capsule viewed from above, showing anatomical detail, including apical beak, vascular bundles
A vascular bundle is a part of the transport system in vascular plants. The transport itself happens in the stem, which exists in two forms: xylem and phloem. Both these tissues are present in a vascular bundle, which in addition will includ ...
(in section) in ribs etc.
File:Purple Alstroemeria capsule side view.jpg, ''Alstroemeria'' seed capsule viewed from side, showing winged ribs and (triangular pyramidal) apical beak.
File:Alstroemeria pod opening.jpg, alt=Developing Alstroemeria seed capsule cut open to reveal unripe seeds, Premature dehiscence of ''Alstroemeria'' seed capsule
Taxonomy
The genus was described by
Johan Peter Falk
Johan Peter Falk (26 November 1732 – 31 March 1774) was a Swedish botanist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. His first name is sometimes spelled "Johann"; his middle name is sometimes spelled "Pehr"; and his surname is sometimes spelled "Falck". ...
and his thesis supervisor
Carl Linnaeus in his 1762 dissertation ''Planta Alströmeria''. Linnaeus bears the
botanical authority
In botanical nomenclature, author citation is the way of citing the person or group of people who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the ''International Cod ...
(L.).
Etymology
The genus was named after the
Swedish baron
Clas Alströmer
Baron Clas Alströmer (9 August 1736 – 5 March 1794) was a Swedish naturalist who was a student of Carl Linnaeus at Uppsala University. From 1760 to 1764 he traveled throughout Southern Europe, collecting plants for Linnaeus. He established a bot ...
(1736–1794), a friend of Linnaeus.
Cultivation and uses
Many
hybrids and at least 190
cultivars have been developed, featuring many markings and colors, including white, yellow, orange, apricot, pink, red, purple, and lavender. The most popular and showy hybrids commonly grown today result from crosses between species from Chile (winter-growing) with species from Brazil (summer-growing). This strategy has overcome the florists' problem of seasonal dormancy and resulted in plants that are
evergreen, or nearly so, and flower for most of the year. This breeding work derives mainly from trials that began in the United States in the 1980s; the main breeding is done nowadays by companies in the Netherlands. The flower, which resembles a miniature lily, is very popular for bouquets and flower arrangements in the commercial cut
flower trade. These delicate flowers survive up to 14 days in water without any signs of shrivelling.
Most cultivars available for the home garden will bloom in the late spring and early summer. The roots are hardy to a temperature of . The plant requires at least six hours of morning sunlight, regular water, and well-drained soil.
AGM cultivars
The following cultivars have gained the
Royal Horticultural Society's
Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
, all with a hardiness rating of H4 (Hardy – average winter ) apart from 'Friendship' (H5: Hardy – cold winter ):
* 'Apollo' (white/yellow flowers, 100 cm)
* 'Cahors' (pink/yellow, 90 cm)
* 'Coronet' (salmon/yellow flowers, 140 cm)
* 'Friendship' (yellow flushed pink, 100 cm)
* 'Orange Glory' (150 cm)
* 'Oriana' (salmon/yellow, 50 cm)
* 'Phoenix' (red/yellow, 100 cm)
* 'Red Elf' (100 cm)
* 'Sirius' (pink/yellow, 100 cm)
* 'Sonata' (red/yellow, 100 cm)
* 'Spitfire' (orange/yellow, 90 cm)
* 'Tessa' (red flowers, 120 cm)
* 'Yellow Friendship'
(140 cm)
Ecology
Some alstroemerias have
escaped cultivation and become
weeds, such as ''
Alstroemeria pulchella''. and ''
A. aurea'', which are now weeds in Australia.
Species
See also
*
List of plants known as lily
Citations
General sources
* , published in
Amoenitates Academicae 6: 247–262 1763
*
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q917833
Flora of South America
Liliales genera