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This spider is lovely
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The Spider Lily makes attractive hedges and borders
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FRAGRANT FLOWER Spider Lily
For a name not quite flattering, the Spider Lily is a beautiful and fragrant flower found in the rocky habitats of South America, Africa and Peru. Also called Hymenocallys, the plant belongs to the Amarallidiceae family, a genus of about 40 species of bulbous evergreen perennials. They bear terminal umbels of fragrant white flowers, each with six narrow petals with a wide cup-shaped corona about eight cm across, formed from the fused lower part of the stamens. They are wavy margined and linked by the stamens.
The flower has six narrow spidery segments and hence the name. The anthers are attached to the cup face upwards. The leaves are about 60 cm long, strap-shaped and mid green to dark green in colour. The tube at the back of the flower is greenish. Hymenocallys means "beautiful membrane" — referring to the corona. The anthers are brownish. The plant flowers during the rainy season and can be grown in pots or on the ground in beds or borders.
The plant grows well in loam based potting compost with added leaf mould and grit along with bright filtered light. Propagation is done through offsets detached from the parent. Keep the plant fairly dry until growth starts. Water well in the growing season and less in winter. Spider lilies look best when they are massed together to form a border or hedge. If grown in pots, they can be shifted when the pot becomes crowded.
CHITRA RADHAKRISHNAN
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