Alstroemeria

Alstroemeria (), commonly called the Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alstroemeriaceae. They are all native to South America, although some have become naturalized in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Madeira and the Canary Islands. Almost all of the species are restricted to one of two distinct centers of diversity: one in central Chile and southern Argentina, the other in eastern Brazil. Species of Alstroemeria from Patagonia are winter-growing plants, while those of Brazil are summer growing. All are long-lived perennials except A. graminea, a diminutive annual from the Atacama Desert of Chile.

Description Plants of this genus grow from a cluster of tubers. They send up fertile and sterile stems, the fertile stems of some species reaching in height. The leaves are alternately arranged and resupinate, twisted on the petioles so that the undersides face up. The leaves are variable in shape and the blades have smooth edges. The flowers are solitary or borne in umbels. The flower has six petals each up to long. They come in many shades of red, orange, yellow, green, purple, pink, and white, flecked and striped and streaked with darker colors. There are six curving stamens. The stigma has three lobes. The fruit is a capsule with three valves. Alstroemeria are classified as an inferior monocot, meaning the petals are located above the ovary and the leaf veins are parallel.Alstroemeria. Flora of North America.

Distribution and habitat The genus Alstroemeria is exclusively native to South America, with various species found ranging from Venezuela (3° north of the Equator), to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (53° South). Within this range of the entire genus, two centers of species diversity are recognized, one in Brazil and one in Chile.

In Chile, Alstroemeria is amongst the most diverse genera of vascular monocotyledons, with more than 50 recognized or accepted taxa (species, subspecies and varieties). Of these taxa, roughly 80% are endemic to the Mediterranean matorral zone of central Chile.

In Brazil, which is home to more than 40 species, most Alstroemeria species are found outside of the Amazonian region, and are concentrated towards the south and east of the country. Alstroemeria can be found in almost all types of habitat, from forests to savannahs, caatingas to swamps, and commonly, high altitude grasslands and rocky outcrops, with typical altitudes ranging from 300m in the Amazon, to 2300m in the Itatiaia National Park. Most Brazilian species have relatively restricted distributions.

Taxonomy The genus was described by Johan Peter Falk and his thesis supervisor Carl Linnaeus in his 1762 dissertation Planta Alströmeria. Linnaeus bears the botanical authority (L.).

Etymology The genus was named after the Swedish baron Clas Alströmer (1736–1794), a friend of Linnaeus. The family name Alströmer is itself a botanical one: Swedish al ("alder") + ström ("stream").

Cultivation and uses Many hybrids and at least 190 cultivars have been developed, featuring many markings and colors, including white, yellow, orange, apricot, pink, red, purple, and lavender. The most popular and showy hybrids commonly grown today result from crosses between species from Chile (winter-growing) with species from Brazil (summer-growing). This strategy has overcome the florists' problem of seasonal dormancy and resulted in plants that are evergreen, or nearly so, and flower for most of the year. This breeding work derives mainly from trials that began in the United States in the 1980s; the main breeding is done nowadays by companies in the Netherlands. The flower, which resembles a miniature lily, is very popular for bouquets and flower arrangements in the commercial cut flower trade. These delicate flowers survive up to 14 days in water without any signs of shrivelling.Long Lasting Flowers

Most cultivars available for the home garden will bloom in the late spring and early summer. The roots are hardy to a temperature of . The plant requires at least six hours of morning sunlight, regular water, and well-drained soil.

AGM cultivars The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, all with a hardiness rating of H4 (Hardy – average winter ) apart from 'Friendship' (H5: Hardy – cold winter ):

'Apollo' (white/yellow flowers, 100 cm) 'Cahors' (pink/yellow, 90 cm)

'Coronet' (salmon/yellow flowers, 140 cm) 'Friendship' (yellow flushed pink, 100 cm) 'Orange Glory' (150 cm) 'Oriana' (salmon/yellow, 50 cm)

'Phoenix' (red/yellow, 100 cm) 'Red Elf' (100 cm) 'Sirius' (pink/yellow, 100 cm) 'Sonata' (red/yellow, 100 cm) 'Spitfire' (orange/yellow, 90 cm) 'Tessa' (red flowers, 120 cm) 'Yellow Friendship' (140 cm)

Ecology Some alstroemerias have escaped cultivation and become weeds, such as Alstroemeria pulchella. and A. aurea, which are now weeds in Australia.

Species

Image Name Distribution Alstroemeria achirae Maule Alstroemeria albescensRio Grande do Sul Alstroemeria altoparadisea Goiás Alstroemeria amabilis Brazil Alstroemeria amazonicaPará, Bolívar Alstroemeria andinaChile, Argentina Alstroemeria angustifoliaSantiago Alstroemeria annapolinaGoiás Alstroemeria apertifloraBrazil, Argentina, Paraguay Alstroemeria aquidauanica Mato Grosso Alstroemeria arnicanaGoiás Alstroemeria aulicaValparaíso Alstroemeria aureaChile, Argentina; naturalized in New Zealand, Victoria (Australia) Alstroemeria bahiensisBahia Alstroemeria bakeriCatamarca Alstroemeria bilabiataSantiago Alstroemeria brasiliensisBrazil Alstroemeria burchelliiGoiás Alstroemeria cabralensisMinas Gerais Alstroemeria caiaponica Goiás Alstroemeria callianthaMinas Gerais Alstroemeria cantillanicaO'Higgins Alstroemeria capixabaEspírito Santo Alstroemeria caryophyllaea Brazil Alstroemeria chapadensisMato Grosso Alstroemeria chorillensis Peru Alstroemeria crispatanorthern Chile Alstroemeria cuiabanaMato Grosso Alstroemeria cultrifoliaBrasília Alstroemeria cunhaBrazil Alstroemeria decoraValparaíso Alstroemeria dilutaCoquimbo Alstroemeria discolorValparaíso Alstroemeria douradensisGoiás Alstroemeria espigonensisBahia Alstroemeria esteparicaAysén, Chile and Argentina Alstroemeria exerensChile, Argentina Alstroemeria fiebrigiana Bolivia Alstroemeria firmulifolia Minas Gerais Alstroemeria foliosa Brazil, Paraguay Alstroemeria fuscovinosaBrazil Alstroemeria garaventaeCentral Chile Alstroemeria gardneriBrazil Alstroemeria glaucandraValparaíso Alstroemeria gouveianaMinas Gerais Alstroemeria gramineaAntofagasta, Atacama Alstroemeria hookeriCoquimbo Alstroemeria huemulinaBío Bío Alstroemeria ibitipocaeMinas Gerais Alstroemeria igarapavicaSão Paulo Alstroemeria inodoraBrazil Alstroemeria isabellanaBrazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay Alstroemeria itabiritensisMinas Gerais Alstroemeria jequitianaMinas Gerais Alstroemeria jocundaSantiago Alstroemeria julieaeMinas Gerais Alstroemeria kingiiCoquimbo Alstroemeria lactiluteaTarapacá Alstroemeria landimanaBrasília Alstroemeria leporinaValparaíso Alstroemeria ligtu, St. Martin's flowerPeru, Chile, Argentina Alstroemeria litterataMato Grosso Alstroemeria longaviensisMaule Alstroemeria longistaminea Brazil Alstroemeria longistylaGoiás, Minas Gerais Alstroemeria luteaTarapacá Alstroemeria magnaValparaíso Alstroemeria magnificaCoquimbo Alstroemeria malmeanaBrazil Alstroemeria maximaBrazil Alstroemeria modestaChile Alstroemeria mollensis Coquimbo Alstroemeria monanthaChile Alstroemeria monticolaBahia, Minas Gerais Alstroemeria nidularisMaule Alstroemeria nivea Coquimbo Alstroemeria ochraceaMinas Gerais Alstroemeria orchidioidesBrasília, Goiás Alstroemeria pallidaChile Alstroemeria paraensisPará Alstroemeria patagonicasouthern Argentina, southern Chile Alstroemeria pauperculaPeru, northern Chile Alstroemeria pelegrina, Peruvian lilyPeru, Chile Alstroemeria pendulifloraMinas Gerais Alstroemeria philippiinorthern Chile Alstroemeria piauhyensisBrazil Alstroemeria plantagineaBrazil, Venezuela Alstroemeria poetica Chile Alstroemeria polpaicanaSantiago Alstroemeria polyphyllaChile Alstroemeria preslianaChile, Argentina Alstroemeria pseudospathulataChile, Argentina Alstroemeria psittacinaBrazil, Argentina; naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, Southeastern United States, southern Mexico, Madeira, Canary Islands Alstroemeria pubiflora Goiás Alstroemeria pudicaSantiago Alstroemeria pulchraSantiago Alstroemeria punctataBrasília, Goiás Alstroemeria pygmaeaPeru, Brazil, Argentina Alstroemeria radulaBrazil Alstroemeria recumbensChile Alstroemeria revolutaCentral Chile Alstroemeria ribeirensisParaná Alstroemeria roseoviridisMato Grosso do Sul Alstroemeria rupestrisMinas Gerais Alstroemeria sabulosaValparaíso Alstroemeria schizanthoidesChile Alstroemeria sellowiana Brazil Alstroemeria spathulataChile, Argentina Alstroemeria speciosaSão Paulo Alstroemeria spectabilisSantiago Alstroemeria stenopetalaGoiás, Minas Gerais Alstroemeria talcaensis Maule Alstroemeria timidaSantiago Alstroemeria tombolatoanaGoiás, Minas Gerais Alstroemeria umbellataChile, Argentina Alstroemeria variegataMinas Gerais Alstroemeria venustaChile Alstroemeria versicolorCentral Chile Alstroemeria virginalis Coquimbo Alstroemeria viridifloraBrazil Alstroemeria werdermanniiChile Alstroemeria xavantinensisMato Grosso Alstroemeria yaelaeSantiago Alstroemeria zoelneriChile

Alstroemeria

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