
Eucomis pallidiflora

Eucomis pallidiflora, the giant pineapple lily, is a bulbous species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, native to southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland). The white to green flowers appear in summer and are arranged in a spike (raceme), topped by a "head" of green leaflike bracts. Some forms reach almost when in flower. The species is cultivated as an ornamental plant, although it is not hardy in areas where severe frosts occur.
Description.
"Eucomis pallidiflora" is a perennial growing from a large bulb with a diameter of up to . It has a basal rosette of strap-shaped leaves, about long and wide, with minutely serrated margins. The inflorescence, produced in late summer (August in the UK), is a dense raceme, reaching an overall height of , almost in some forms. The individual flowers have white, greenish yellow or green tepals and a green ovary. The inflorescence is topped by a head (coma) of up to 30 bracts, sometimes quite small. The plant lacks the purple coloration found other large species of "Eucomis", such as "Eucomis comosa".
Taxonomy.
"Eucomis pallidiflora" was first described by John Gilbert Baker in 1887. The Latin specific epithet "pallidiflora" means "pale flowered". It is one of a group of larger tetraploid species of "Eucomis", with 2"n" = 4"x" = 60.
Two subspecies are recognized by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families:
"E. pallidiflora" subsp. "pallidiflora" has a relatively densely packed raceme of flowers on a stem (peduncule) up to high from the base to the first flower, whereas "E. pallidiflora" subsp. "pole-evansii" has a loose raceme on a stem long before the first flower. Some sources regard "E. pallidiflora" subsp. "pole-evansii" as hardly distinguishable from the typical form.
Distribution and habitat.
"Eucomis pallidiflora" is native to southern Africa – the Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Northern Provinces in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. It is found at a range of altitudes, from to .
Cultivation.
The plant is not frost-hardy, and requires a winter mulch in those areas subject to freezing temperatures. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It flowers in summer (August in cultivation in Britain), remaining upright for two months while the seeds ripen. It can be cultivated in containers where severe frosts occur, kept inside and dry in winter.