Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis
(F.M.Leight.) F.M.Leight. AgapanthusRhizome stout, branching, forming leafy clumps to c. 1.5 m diam. or more. Scapes stout, hollow, erect, 40–120 cm high. Leaves flat with sheathing base, 40–80 cm long, 30–50 mm wide. Umbel many-flowered, 10–20cm diam.; pedicels 5–8 cm long; flowers funnel-shaped, c. 4 cm long, blue or white; segments fused basally for c. 10–15 mm; stamens usually longer than the segments, fused for 20–30 mm basally. Capsule fusiform, c. 25–35 mm long. Seeds numerous. Flowers Nov.–Feb.
Wim, GleP, VVP, VRiv, GipP, OtP, WaP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, EGL, HSF, HNF, OtR, Strz. Also naturalised WA, Tas. Widely grown as an ornamental, persisting in abandoned settlements and along some roadsides, established (often initially as a result of dumping of garden refuse) in various localities (e.g. Winchelsea area, Tallangatta, Sorrento) and subsequently spreading by seed.
Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis, commonly referred to in literature as A. orientalis, is the more commonly cultivated subspecies in Australian gardens and all naturalized collections are referable to this taxon. The nominate subspecies is occasionally cultivated, however, and is distinguished from subsp. orientalis chiefly by the longer perianth (5–7 cm).
Conran, J.G. (1994). Liliaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 637–686. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
