agapanthus
Feb. 27th, 2023 08:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordagapanthus (ag-uh-PAN-thuhs) - n., any of several flowering plants (genus Agapanthus of the amaryllis family) native to Africa, having sword-shaped leaves and cultivated for their showy blue, purple, or white flowers.
About 6 or 7 species (botanists are still squabbling over exactly how to type them), including African lily and lily of the Nile, for while agapanthuses are currently not classified as lilies, they formerly were. Many hybrids and varietals are cultivated. Here's a wild Agapanthus africanus, which is one of the species called African lily:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
The genus was established with that name by French botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1788, so the coinage (from Ancient Greek roots agapē, love + anthos, flower) may have been his, but I can't confirm this, nor have I found why it's a flower of love.
---L.
About 6 or 7 species (botanists are still squabbling over exactly how to type them), including African lily and lily of the Nile, for while agapanthuses are currently not classified as lilies, they formerly were. Many hybrids and varietals are cultivated. Here's a wild Agapanthus africanus, which is one of the species called African lily:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
The genus was established with that name by French botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1788, so the coinage (from Ancient Greek roots agapē, love + anthos, flower) may have been his, but I can't confirm this, nor have I found why it's a flower of love.
---L.
