Agapanthus praecox Willd., Liliaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Agapanthus orientalis F. M. Leight. [≡ Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis]

Common name(s): [more details]

English: African-lily, agapanthus

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Evergreen herb, usually forming dense clumps.  Leaves to 20, strap-shaped, 8-28 x to 2 inches, arching over, channeled.  Inflorescence a many-flowered umbel, ±dense, scape 16-40 inches tall, pedicels 2-5 inches long.  Flowers 1.5-2 inches long, white or blue; tepal bases shortly tubular, lobes spreading, thing-textured, margins ±ruffled; stamen and style included.  Fruit ellipsoid, 3-angled, papery"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 678).

Habitat/ecology:  Has low water requirements  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 678).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Cape region of South Africa  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 678).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 19) Agapanthus sp.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1943) (voucher ID: BISH 120944) Taxon name on voucher: Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis (Leighton) Leighton
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1987) (voucher ID: BISH 511507) Taxon name on voucher: Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis (Leighton) Leighton
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1932) (voucher ID: BISH 120943) Taxon name on voucher: Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis (Leighton) Leighton
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 41) Rare or extirpated. Not seen since 1991.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 92) subsp. orientalis (F. M. Leight.) F. M. Leight. (as Agapanthus orientalis Leighton)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Healy, A. J./Edgar, E. (1980) (p. 47) As Agapanthus orientalis. Voucher cited: R. Mason and N. T. Moar 2150 (CHR 81051)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009) subsp. orientalis (F. M. Leight.) F. M. Leight.
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Agapanthus praecox is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Agapanthus praecox as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Agapanthus praecox may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Agapanthus orientalis F. M. Leight. [≡ Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis]

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1932. Voucher specimen #BISH120943(Judd, A.F. s.n.).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1943. Voucher specimen #BISH120944(Fagerlund, G.O. 494).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1987. Voucher specimen #BISH511507(Plews, J. s.n.).

Healy, A. J./Edgar, E. 1980. Flora of New Zealand, Volume III: Adventive cyperaceous, petalous & spathaceous monocotyledons. Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand. 220 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2008. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 40:1-69. .

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2009. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.