Crinum [delagoense X acaule]

There are wild populations of natural hybrids between Crinum delagoense (also known as C. stuhlmannii) and C. acaule. One such plant is shown on this page. These are from a farm in KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa; the bulbs were removed because the field was to be plowed up and planted with crops. Some are said to be fertile, but we have not had them long enough to test this.

Like C. acaule, this plant is compact: the leaves are less than 12 inches long, and the peduncle (stem) is only 6 to 7 inches tall. The scape is held at an angle. Unlike acaule, which is usually single-flowered, this umbel contained 5 buds.

Other Sources of Information

RHS Manual of Bulbs, John Bryan and Mark Griffiths, Eds., Timber Press (1995).
Bulbous Plants of Southern Africa, by Neil du Plessis and Graham Duncan, Tafelberg Pub. Ltd., Cape Town (1989).
Bulbs for Warm Climates, by Thad M. Howard, University of Texas Press, Austin (2001).
Bulbs, Revised Edition, by John E. Bryan, Timber Press, Portland (2002).
"Indigenous Crinum of Namibia" by David Lehmiller, HERBERTIA 48, pp. 32-38 (1992).
"Additional Notes on Namibian Crinum" by David Lehmiller, HERBERTIA 48, pp. 75-85 (1992).
"The Genus Crinum in Southern Africa" by I.C. Verdoorn, BOTHALIA 11, pp. 27-52 (1973).
"Crinum acaule, C. minimum, and C. parvibulbosum in Southern Africa" by Robert H. Archer, HERBERTIA 52, pp. 90-94 (1997).
"Synopsis of the Genus Crinum (Amaryllidaceae) in Namibia" by David Lehmiller, HERBERTIA 52, pp. 44-65 (1997).
"Crinum Subgenus Codocrinum in Southern Tchad and Extreme Northern Cameroun" by David Lehmiller, HERBERTIA 52, pp. 119-133 (1997).
"Crinum, Family Amaryllidaceae" http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/crinum.htm by Robert H. Archer, National Herbarium, Pretoria, South Africa, 2004.