View source for Agapanthus africanus

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant native to South Africa}}
{{Speciesbox
|name          = African lily
|image         = Agapanthus africanus in habitat photo Nick Helme CC by SA.jpg
|image_caption = In habitat
|taxon         = Agapanthus africanus
|authority     = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Hoffmanns.]]
|synonyms      =
{{Plainlist | style = margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; |
*''Abumon africanum'' <small>(L.) Britton</small>
*''Agapanthus minor'' <small>Lodd.</small>
*''Agapanthus tuberosus'' <small>L. ex DC.</small> nom. inval.
*''Agapanthus umbellatus'' <small>L'Hér.</small>
*''Crinum africanum'' <small>L.</small>
*''Crinum floridum'' <small>Salisb.</small> nom. illeg.
*''Mauhlia africana'' <small>(L.) Dahl</small>
*''Mauhlia linearis'' <small>Thunb.</small>
*''Mauhlia umbellata'' <small>(L'Hér.) Thunb. ex Schult. & Schult.f.</small>
*''Tulbaghia africana'' <small>(L.) Kuntze</small>
*''Tulbaghia heisteri'' <small>Fabr.</small>
*''Tulbaghia minor'' <small>(Lodd.) Kuntze</small>
}}
|synonyms_ref  = <ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-293521
|title=The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species
|access-date=April 3, 2014}}</ref>
}}
'''''Agapanthus africanus''''', or the '''African lily''', is a flowering plant from the genus ''Agapanthus'' found only on rocky sandstone slopes of the winter rainfall [[fynbos]] from the [[Cape Peninsula]] to [[Swellendam]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Manning|first=John|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/852384288|title=Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region : 1: the core Cape flora|date=2012|publisher=South African National Biodiversity Institute, SANBI|others=Peter Goldblatt, G. D. Duncan|isbn=978-1-919976-74-7|location=Pretoria|oclc=852384288}}</ref> It is also known as the lily-of-the-Nile in spite of only occurring in South Africa.
== Description ==
The plant is a rhizomatous evergreen geophyte from {{cvt|25 to 70|cm|ftin|0}} in height. The leathery leaves are suberect and long and strap shaped.<ref name=":0" /> Flowers are broadly funnel-shaped, pale to deep blue, and thick-textured with a dark blue stripe running down the center of each petal. Paler flowers are more common in ''Agapanthus africanus walshii'' while ''Agapanthus africanus africanus'' flowers tend to be darker.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Agapanthus africanus {{!}} PlantZAfrica|url=http://pza.sanbi.org/agapanthus-africanus|access-date=2021-02-22|website=pza.sanbi.org}}</ref> The flowers grow in large clusters, with each flower being  {{cvt|25–40|mm|frac=32}} long. This species flowers from November to April, particularly after fire.<ref name=":0" /> Peak flowering occurs from December to February.<ref name=":1" />
== Ecology ==
Pollination is by wind, [[bee]]s and [[sunbird]]s and seed dispersal by the wind. [[Chacma baboon]]s and buck{{explain|date=March 2023}} sometimes eat the flower heads just as the first flowers begin to open. These plants are adapted to survive fire in the fynbos and [[Resprouter|resprout]] from thick, fleshy roots after fire has passed through the area.<ref name=":1" />
==Cultivation and use==
Unlike the more common ''[[Agapanthus praecox]]'', this species is less suitable as a garden plant as it is far more difficult to grow.  ''A.&nbsp;africanus'' subsp. ''africanus'' may be grown in rockeries in a well drained, slightly acid sandy mix. They seem to be best when grown in shallow pots and will flower regularly if fed with a slow release fertiliser.<ref name=":1" /> ''A.&nbsp;africanus'' subsp. ''walshii'' is by far the most difficult ''Agapanthus'' to grow.  It can only be grown as a container plant and will not survive if planted out. They require a very well-drained, sandy, acid mix with minimal watering in summer.<ref name=":1" /> Both subspecies require hot, dry summers, and winter rainfall climate. It will not tolerate extended freezing temperatures.<ref name="plantzafrica">{{cite web| url = http://pza.sanbi.org/agapanthus-praecox| title = PlantZAfrica: ''Agapanthus praecox''}}</ref>
The name ''A.&nbsp;africanus'' has long been misapplied to ''A.&nbsp;praecox'' in horticultural use and publications across the world, and horticultural plants sold as ''A.&nbsp;africanus'' are actually hybrids or cultivars of ''A.&nbsp;praecox''.<ref name=":1" />
Extracts of ''A. africanus'' have been shown to have antifungal properties. Application of these extracts to the seeds of other plant species, including economically important species, has shown that it significantly reduces the severity of the impacts of certain pathogens. In the case of sorghum, this application was even found to perform better than [[Thiram]], a commonly used [[fungicide]] when exposed to ''[[Sporisorium sorghi]]'' and ''[[Sporisorium cruentum|S. cruentum]]''.<ref name="Agapanthus-africanus-extracts">
{{Unbulleted list citebundle
|{{cite book | pages=x+136 | volume=6 | year=2014| publication-place=[[Dordrecht]] | last1=Gullino | first1=Maria Lodovica | last2=Munkvold | first2=Gary P. | title=Global Perspectives on the Health of Seeds and Plant Propagation Material | publisher=[[International Congress of Plant Pathology]] ([[Springer Netherlands]])  | isbn=978-94-017-9388-9 | id={{isbn|978-94-017-9389-6}} | doi=10.1007/978-94-017-9389-6 | series=Plant Pathology in the 21st Century | s2cid=28648931}}
|{{cite journal | issue=7 | year=2008 | volume=27 | last2=Pretorius | title=Antifungal properties of ''Agapanthus africanus'' L. extracts against plant pathogens | last1=Tegegne | first1=G. | first2=J.C. | last3=Swart | first3=W.J. | journal=[[Crop Protection (journal)|Crop Protection]] | issn=0261-2194 | publisher=[[International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences]] ([[Elsevier]]) | doi=10.1016/j.cropro.2007.12.007 | pages=1052–1060 | s2cid=44930816}}
}}
</ref>  Similarly, it has found to induce resistance to rust leaf in wheat through increasing the activity of pathogenesis related proteins.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Singh|first=R. P.|date=1992|title=Expression of Wheat Leaf Rust Resistance Gene ''Lr34'' in Seedlings and Adult Plants|journal=Plant Disease|volume=76|issue=5|pages=489|doi=10.1094/pd-76-0489|issn=0191-2917}}</ref>
== Conservation ==
While the species as a whole has not yet been assessed,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Threatened Species Programme {{!}} SANBI Red List of South African Plants|url=http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=481-4001|access-date=2021-07-17|website=redlist.sanbi.org}}</ref> ''A.&nbsp;africanus'' subsp. ''walshii'' is considered to be endangered by the [[South African National Biodiversity Institute|South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)]]. It is known only from a small area in the Elgin valley (less than five locations) and the population continues to decline. The largest subpopulation is threatened by unregulated informal settlement expansion. A proportion of the population is protected within the [[Kogelberg Nature Reserve|Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve]] and is not threatened.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Threatened Species Programme {{!}} SANBI Red List of South African Plants|url=http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=481-21|access-date=2021-07-17|website=redlist.sanbi.org}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[List of plants known as lily]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.plantweb.co.za/Plant_Pictures/Agapanthus/Agapanthus_africanus/ Plantweb: ''Agapanthus africanus'']
* {{AfricanPlants|Agapanthus africanus}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q161256}}
[[Category:Agapanthus|africanus]]
[[Category:Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1824]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]