1189.000 Crinum L. - Vlei-lilies

Bjorå, C.S., Kwembeya, E.G., & Nordal, I. (2006) Crinum jasonii (Amaryllidaceae): a new endemic pan species of the Luangwa Valley in Zambia with notes on different seed structures in the genus Kew Bulletin 61 569-577

Kwembeya, E.G., Bjorå, C.S., Stedje, B. & Nordal, I. (2007) Phylogenetic relationships in the genus Crinum (Amaryllidaceae) with emphasis on tropical African species: evidence from trnL-F and nuclear ITS DNA sequence data Taxon 56(3) 801-810

Zimudzi, C., Archer, R.H., Kwembeya, E.G. & Nordal, I. (2006) Synopsis of the Amaryllidaceae from the Flora Zambesiaca area Kirkia 18(2) 151-168

Description of the genus

Bulbous herbs. Scape flattened, solid. Leaves many, present at flowering time; apex truncate; margin hyaline, ciliate. Inflorescence a 1-25-flowered umbel. Flowers zygomorphic, often because of the deflexed style only, pale to deep pink or white. Tepals connate into a tube. Fruit indehiscent. Seeds with a thin corky covering.

Derivation of name: Greek: lily

Comment: The south-western corner of Zambia is a diversity hotspot of the genus, with several taxa still little known. C. carolo-schmidtii Dinter and C. subcernuum Baker are recorded from close to the Zambian border, and are likely to be found in Zambia. Sioma Ngwezi National Park, is a botanical blank sheet.
Caterpillars of the Cherry-spot moth, Brithys crini (Noctuidae) feed on the leaves of Crinum and many other Amaryllidaceae, initially as leaf miners, and later externally, even burrowing into the bulb.

Worldwide: 100 species, pantropical.

Zambia: 12 taxa.

The larvae of the following species of insect eat species of this genus:
Brithys crini (Lily leaf borer, Crinum borer)
Diaphone eumela (Cherry spot)
Crinum binghamii

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsProvincesContent
aurantiacum LehmillerN,W,SNw,N,SDescription, Image
binghamii Nordal & Kwembeya [LR-nt]BWDescription, Image
carolo-schmidtii DinterImage
crassicaule BakerB,E,SE,S,WDescription, Image
jasonii Bjorå & Nordal [VU]Description, Image
macowanii BakerB,N,W,C,SCb,Mc,C,Lk,S,WDescription, Image
minimum Milne-Redh. N,W,C,E,SNw,Mc,E,Lk,SDescription, Image
paludosum I. Verd.BWDescription, Image
papillosum Nordal [EN]NLpDescription, Image
rautanenianum Schinz B,C,EE,C,WDescription, Image
subcernuum Baker[DD]NNDescription, Image
verdoorniae LehmillerB,N,W,C,ENw,N,E,Lk,WDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Crinum:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Crinum
Flora of Caprivi: Crinum
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Crinum
Flora of Malawi: Crinum
Flora of Mozambique: Crinum
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Crinum
Flora of Zimbabwe: Crinum
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Crinum

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Crinum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Crinum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Crinum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Crinum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Crinum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Crinum
JSTOR Plant Science: Crinum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Crinum
Plants of the World Online: Crinum
Tropicos: Crinum
Wikipedia: Crinum

Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-24

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2024). Flora of Zambia: Genus page: Crinum.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=366, retrieved 19 March 2024

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