Pineapple lily

Description

Eucomis vandermerwei is a South African bulbous perennial flowering plant, a member of the asparagus family (Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae), and like other members of Eucomis is commonly known as pineapple lily for its superficial resemblance to that plant (Ananas comosus), although not closely related to it. This species is one of the smallest in the genus, and is native to a high-rainfall region of western Mpumalanga in South Africa. The dense rosette of leaves, either prostrate or ascending, is heavily blotched with purple, and the leaf-edges are markedly crisped or wavy. The star-shaped burgundy flowers appear in midsummer (November–January in South Africa), and are borne on a spike (raceme) topped by a "head" of leafy bracts. Eucomis vandermerwei is a short summer-growing bulbous plant, reaching at most 20 cm (8 in) tall. It bulb is ovoid, 3–6 cm (1+1⁄4–2+1⁄4 in) across. Three to six leaves emerge from a bulb and are up to 60 cm (2 ft) long and 15 cm (6 in) wide, heavily spotted and marked with purple, with hard undulate margins. The flowers are arranged in a raceme on a purple-spotted stem (peduncule) 6–12 cm (2+1⁄2–4+1⁄2 in) tall. The raceme is topped by a head or "coma" of up to 11 bracts which, like the leaves, are purple spotted. The unpleasantly scented flowers have maroon tepals and green stamen filaments bearing mauve anthers. Each flower is borne on a stalk (pedicel), 2–4 cm (1–1+1⁄2 in) long. The ovary is green tinged with purple and is followed by a brownish-maroon seed capsule producing relatively large, ovoid, black glossy seeds. Eucomis vandermerwei occurs in western Mpumalanga, part of the Northern Provinces, in the most north-eastern part of South Africa. It is endemic to high slopes and plateaux at altitudes of 2,200–2,500 m (7,200–8,200 ft). It grows in small groups in sunny positions in well-drained stony and rocky habitats with acid soil.