1189.000 Crinum L. - Vlei-lilies

Bjorå, C.S., Kwembeya, E.G., & Nordal, I. (2006) Crinum jasonii (Amaryllidaceae): a new endemic pan species of the Luangwa Valley in Zambia with notes on different seed structures in the genus Kew Bulletin 61 569-577

Geerinck, D. (1973) Amaryllidaceae Flore d' Afrique Centrale Jardin botanique national de Belgique

Kwembeya, E.G., Bjorå, C.S., Stedje, B. & Nordal, I. (2007) Phylogenetic relationships in the genus Crinum (Amaryllidaceae) with emphasis on tropical African species: evidence from trnL-F and nuclear ITS DNA sequence data Taxon 56(3) 801-810

Zimudzi, C., Archer, R.H., Kwembeya, E.G. & Nordal, I. (2006) Synopsis of the Amaryllidaceae from the Flora Zambesiaca area Kirkia 18(2) 151-168

Description of the genus

Bulbous herbs. Scape flattened, solid. Leaves many, present at flowering time; apex truncate; margin hyaline, ciliate. Inflorescence a 1-25-flowered umbel. Flowers zygomorphic, often because of the deflexed style only, pale to deep pink or white. Tepals connate into a tube. Fruit indehiscent. Seeds with a thin corky covering.

Derivation of name: Greek: lily

Worldwide: 100 species, pantropical.

Malawi: 6 taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Brithys crini (Lily leaf borer, Crinum borer) Larval foodplant
Diaphone eumela (Cherry spot) Larval foodplant
Crinum macowanii

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
aurantiacum LehmillerNDescription, Image
buphanoides Welw. ex BakerSDescription, Image
crassicaule BakerCDescription, Image
jagus (J.Thomps.) DandyDescription
macowanii BakerN,SDescription, Image
verdoorniae LehmillerNDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Crinum:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Crinum
Flora of Burundi: Crinum
Flora of Caprivi: Crinum
Flora of the DRC: Crinum
Flora of Mozambique: Crinum
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Crinum
Flora of Rwanda: Crinum
Flora of Zambia: Crinum
Flora of Zimbabwe: Crinum
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Crinum

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Crinum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Crinum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Crinum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Crinum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Crinum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Crinum
JSTOR Plant Science: Crinum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Crinum
Plants of the World Online: Crinum
Tropicos: Crinum
Wikipedia: Crinum

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-26

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2026). Flora of Malawi: Genus page: Crinum.
https://www.malawiflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=366, retrieved 3 July 2026

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