''Crinum'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 180 species of

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

s that have large showy

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s on leafless stems, and develop from

bulb In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

s. They are found in seasonally moist areas, including marshes, swamps, depressions and along the sides of streams and lakes in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

''Crinum'' are bulbous perennial herbs''Crinum'' in Flora of China @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2025, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=108369 with tunicate bulbsH.J. Hewson. ''Crinum'', in (ed.), Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Crinum ate Accessed: 27 January 2025/ref> and basal, glabrous,Western Australian Herbarium & Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. (n.d.-a). ''Crinum'' L. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora. Retrieved January 27, 2025, from https://florabase.dbca.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/21237 annual to perennial leaves.''Crinum''. (n.d.). VicFlora Flora of Victoria. Retrieved January 27, 2025, from https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/032b13e8-28e9-47de-b460-2efd1317b354 These bulbs can be very large. A species which Chitendon and Synge list as ''Crinum crassipes'' (a synonym of '' Crinum variabile'') can have a bulb high and thick., exceeded only by '' Worsleya procera''.

Generative characteristics

The bisexual, sessile or pedicellate, zygomorphic or actinomorphic flowers are borne one umbellate or solitary inflorescences with solid scapes.

Cytology

Cytological studies have shown that 27 species of ''Crinum'' are

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

, having a typical chromosome count of 2n = 22. Abilio Fernandes found that the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

'' Crinum bulbispermum'' had a count of 2n = 66, and some desert '' Crinum macowanii'' 2n = 44. These

polyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the biological cell, cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of (Homologous chromosome, homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have Cell nucleus, nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning ...

species produce seeds that are often parthenogenetic triploid or diploids, lack vigour and seldom grow to mature plants.

Taxonomy

It was published by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753.Linné, Carl von, & Salvius, Lars. (1753). Caroli Linnaei ... Species plantarum :exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas... (Vol. 1, p. 291). Impensis Laurentii Salvii. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358310 The lectotype ''

Crinum americanum ''Crinum americanum'' is an Aquatic plant, aquatic angiosperm native to North America from Texas to South Carolina, as well as Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Common names for this species include Florida swamp-lily, string lily, an ...

'' was designated in 1923.

Species

, the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) was an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected p ...

lists 105 species of ''Crinum''. Amongst these are: *''

'' L. – southern swamplily, seven sisters *'' Crinum asiaticum'' L. – poisonbulb *'' Crinum bulbispermum'' (Burm.f.) Milne-Redh. & Schweick. – hardy swamplily *'' Crinum latifolium'' L. *'' Crinum macowanii'' Baker *''

Crinum moorei ''Crinum moorei'' is a herbaceous plant belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, and native to South Africa (the Cape Provinces and KwaZulu-Natal). Taxonomy Synonyms *Homotypic **''Amaryllis moorei'' (Joseph Dalton Hooker, Hook.f.) *Heterotypic ...

'' Hook.f. *'' Crinum pedunculatum'' R.Br., syn. ''C. asiaticum'' var. ''pedunculatum'' – swamplily, river lily or spider lily *'' Crinum thaianum'' Schulze – onion plant *''

Crinum viviparum ''Crinum viviparum''Ansari R, Nair VJ (1988) ''J. Econ. Taxon. Bot.'' 11: 205. is a Monocot plant species in the family Amaryllidaceae distributed across Asia. No subspecies are listed in the Catalogue of Life. Distribution and description ''C ...

'' (Lam.) R.Ansari & V.J.Nair – Indian Subcontinent to Indo-China

Formerly placed here

*''

Agapanthus africanus ''Agapanthus africanus'', or the African lily, is a flowering plant from the genus ''Agapanthus'' found only on rocky sandstone slopes of the winter rainfall fynbos from the Cape Peninsula to Swellendam. It is also known as the lily-of-the-Nile i ...

'' (L.) Hoffmanns. (as ''C. africanum'' L.) *'' Ammocharis heterostyla'' (Bullock) Milne-Redh. & Schweick. (as ''C. heterostylum'' Bullock) *'' Cyrtanthus angustifolius'' (L.f.) Aiton (as ''C. angustifolius'' L.f.) *'' Cyrtanthus elatus'' (Jacq.) Traub (as ''C. speciosum'' L.f.) *'' Cyrtanthus obliquus'' (L.f.) Aiton (as ''C. obliquum'' L.f.) *'' Hippeastrum argentinum'' (Pax) Hunz. (as ''C. argentinum'' Pax) *''

Urceolina urceolata ''Urceolina urceolata'' is a Perennial plant, perennial plant species in the family Amaryllidaceae. The species is native to Peru. Plants can reach up to 20 or 30 centimeters in height. The species was first described and named by Hipólito Rui ...

'' (Ruiz & Pav.) Asch. & Graebn. (as ''C. urceolatum'' Ruiz & Pav.)

Hybrids

* × ''Amarcrinum'' hybridised with

Amaryllis ''Amaryllis'' () is the only genus in the subtribe Amaryllidinae (tribe Amaryllideae). It is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, '' Amaryllis belladonna'', is a native of the Western Cape region of ...

*''C.'' × ''powellii'' (garden hybrid between ''C. bulbispermum'' and ''C. moorei'') - pale pink, fragrant, lily-like flowers produced in late summer **''C.'' × ''powellii'' 'Album' (white flowered cultivar)

Etymology

The generic name ''Crinum'' comes from the Ancient Greek κρίνον (krinon), meaning lily, via the Latin ''crinum''.

Uses

Several species are used in

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

s and in

aquascaping Aquascaping is the craft of arranging aquatic plants, as well as rocks, stones, cavework, or driftwood, in an aesthetically pleasing manner within an aquarium—in effect, gardening under water. Aquascape designs include a number of distinct styl ...

. These include '' Crinum calamistratum'', '' Crinum malabaricum'', '' Crinum natans'', and '' Crinum thaianum''.

Gallery

Image:Crinum moorei close.jpg, ''Crinum moorei'' Image:Crinum moorei whole.jpg, ''Crinum moorei'' at Strybing Arboretum,

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Image:Crinum ornatum MS 1724.jpg, ''Crinum ornatum'', SW

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

File:Crinum species W IMG_1103.jpg, ''Crinum'' species in

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

File:Queen Emma Lily (a0003184).jpg, Queen Emma lily (''Crinum augustum'' or ''Crinum amabile'' var. ''augustum'') in Hawaiʻi File:Crinum Lily 'Ellen Bosanquet'.jpg, ''Crinum'' 'Ellen Bosanquet'

References

Bibliography

*
online version

External links

*
Pacific Bulb Society Crinum Page, includes links to photographs

Crinums In East Texas: Notes From Marcelle Sheppard, includes links to photographs, cultural information, and hybridizing results

Bulbsociety

The Genus Crinum

Bulb Society

Juniper Level Botanic Garden Crinum Photo Gallery
{{Authority control Amaryllidaceae genera Pantropical flora