''Pancratium maritimum'', or sea daffodil, is a species of bulbous plant native to both sides of the Mediterranean region and Black Sea from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

east to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

.Altervista Flora Italiana, Giglio marino comune, ''Pancratium maritimum''
/ref> In the parts of its range on the south

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n and north Turkish and Georgian coasts of

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. It is also naturalized in southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> ''Pancratium maritimum'' grows on beaches and coastal sand dunes, often with much of the leaves and scapes buried in the sand. Other vernacular names are sea lily, sand daffodil, sand lily and lily of St. Nicholas, (although it is not a true lily). The specific epithet ''maritimum'' means "of the sea".

Description

''Pancratium maritimum'' is a bulbous perennial with a long neck and glaucous, broadly linear leaves, evergreen, but the leaves often die back during hot summers. Scape to . Flowers 3–15 in an umbel, up to long, white. Corona two-thirds as long as the tepals. The flowers have a pleasing, exotic and very subtle lily scent, which only becomes apparent during still, windless summer nights that allow the delicate fragrance to become perceptible. Flowering is from August to October.

Chemistry

4'-Hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxy-8-methylflavan is a flavan found in ''P. maritimum''.

Ecology

''Pancratium maritimum'' is pollinated by a hawk-moth named ''

Agrius convolvuli ''Agrius convolvuli'', the convolvulus hawk-moth, is a large hawk-moth. It is common throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, partly as a migrant. In New Zealand, it is also known as the kumara moth, and in the Māori language ...

''. These insects visit the flower only when the speed of the wind is under . Even if the species is pollinated in an artificial way during windy weather the pollination is not effective. ''Pancratium maritimum'' is not receptive to its own pollen and must be cross-pollinated. Sea-daffodil-corfu

Cultivation

Easily grown but requires a very sunny position and a very well drained, sandy soil. Needs hot summers to induce flowering and is often a shy bloomer in cooler climates. Hardy to USDA zone 8. Tolerates temperatures down to about . Propagation by seeds or division after flowering. Seedlings may flower in their third or fourth year.

Culture

The

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

name for the flower is ('), closely related to the

rose of Sharon Rose of Sharon (in Hebrew: חֲבַצֶּלֶת הַשָּׁרוֹן) is a Bible, biblical expression, though the identity of the plant referred to is unclear and is disputed among biblical scholars. It has become a common name for several speci ...

(' – ) mentioned in the

Song of Solomon The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, it is erotic poe ...

. Since the plant grows on the Sharon plain of the coast of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, it is suggested the biblical passage may refer to this flower.Coastal Lily
at wildflowers.co.il (Hebrew)

References

Other sources

* Boulos, L. (1995). Flora of Egypt Checklist: i-xii, 1-287. Al Hadara Publishing, Cairo. * Boulos, L. (2005). Flora of Egypt 4: 1-617. Al Hadara Publishing, Cairo. * Britton, N. (1918). Flora of Bermuda: 1-585. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. * Czerepanov, S.K. (1995). Vascular Plants of Russia and Adjacent States (The Former USSR): 1-516. Cambridge University Press. * Danin, A. (2004). Distribution Atlas of Plants in the Flora Palaestina area: 1-517. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem. * Davis, P.H. (ed.) (1984). Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands 8: 1-632. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. * Dobignard, D. & Chatelain, C. (2010). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 1: 1-455. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève. * Hansen, A. & Sunding, P. (1985). Flora of Macaronesia. Checklist of vascular plants. 3. revised edition. Sommerfeltia 1: 5-103. * Jafri, S.M.H. & El-Gadi, A. (eds.) (1978). Flora of Libya 51: 1-10. Al-Faateh University, Tripoli. * Maire, R. (1960). Flore de l'Afrique du Nord 6: 1-397. Paul Lechevalier, Paris. * Meikle, R.D. (1985). Flora of Cyprus 2: 833-1970. The Bentham-Moxon Trust Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. * * * Tutin, T.G. et al. (eds.) (1980). Flora Europaea 5: 1-452. Cambridge University Press. * Zervous, S., Raus, T. & Yannitsaros, A. (2009). Additions to the flora of the island of Kalimnos (SE Aegean, Greece). Willdenowia 39: 165-177.

External links

Visit West Crete, Safaris In Masai Mara, ''Pancratium maritimum'' - Sea daffodil

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1271785 maritimum Plants described in 1753 Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of the Caucasus Flora of Turkey Flora of Israel Flora of the Canary Islands Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Palestine (region)

Description

Chemistry

Ecology

Cultivation

Culture

See also

References

Other sources

External links