Crinum

Crinum bulbispermum (Burm.) Milne-Redh. & Shweick.

CRY-num bulb-ah-SPERM-um

Liliaceae

Explanation of name: For Crinum, see C. asiaticum. Bulbispermum means bulb-seed.

Natural range: Africa

Recognition: This and its hybrids are the only locally common crinums with curved flowers, broad overlapping petals, and usually reddish floral coloration (or rarely white as in ‘Album’). The leaves are characteristically arrow (< 3” wide vs. > 3” in the white-flowered C. jagus according to BA2). This species is hybridized with variable progeny. Crinum Xpowellii L. H. Bailey is a hybrid between C. bulbispermum and C. moorei Hook. f., and tends to be larger than C. bulbispermum. The complexity of the hybrid relationships and criss-crossing of characters, such as floral colors, makes reliable identifications virtually impossible to anyone other than a specialist.