Agapanthus: The Love Flower

Its order Asparagales, its family Alliaceae, the genus is Agapanthus, or we can just call it the "love flower." That is Agapanthus' botanical birthright, with the Greek word agape, meaning love and anthos, meaning flower. Lovely this African native is, with its towering stems that extend a handful of large bluish tubular flowers, which crown into lily-like blooms in maturation.

Its smaller lily-like blooms were reason enough to confuse botanists for years as the Agapanthus genus was grouped in the Liliaceae family of the order Liliales. Agapanthus flowers are no lily when it comes to DNA, though several species of Agapanthus are often known as the Blue Lily, African Lily or African Blue Lily. Agapanthus may be even better known as the "Lily of the Nile", which confuses the issue even more, as its native home is the Western Cape of South Africa, not to the north in Egypt. Agapanthus is sometimes known as the African tulip too; yet again no cigar as the tulip finds its home in the Liliaceae family.

Agapanthus found its own botanical identity only in 2003, after much rejection from entry into different families. Now it can comfortably claim several subspecies such as, Agapanthus africanus (the African Lily or Tulip), Agapanthus inapertus (the drooping agapanthus) and popular within the cut flower industry, Agapanthus praecox (Lily of the Nile).

Agapanthus has a close connection in Dutch Floral history; no surprise considering their colonizing efforts in South Africa in the Seventeenth Century. In fact the first European record of the Agapanthus flower was by the Dutch in 1679 of the Agapanthus africanus species.(1) Since then the Dutch, among other cultivators, have crossbred Agapanthus extensively. Although the love flower is known mostly for its blue to indigo hues, there have been a few white varieties thrown in the mix.

All the same, the Agapanthus flowers' dominantly blue color derives from its pollen which has a lilac hue to it. The family of flowers may not diverge much in color, but the different species may grow as perennials blooming in spring or even evergreen's that hold their form, without blooms, year-round. The evergreen quality is specific to the Agapanthus africanus species, known as "plum, plum" to the locals in South Africa.

Agapanthus may be "plum" popular in South Africa and the resulting heritage of the Dutch colonialists, yet the flower has come to know no bounds. From Ireland and the U.K., Portugal, to Florida and California in the U.S., all the way down-under to Australia, Agapanthus has thrived comfortably in temperate climates.

Despite the medicinal uses found in Agapanthus, the love flower may not be so popular when it causes hemolytic poisoning in people. It's been suspected that Agapanthus can instigate hemolytic anemia, which causes fatigue due to the breakdown of red blood cells. The long terms affects can lead to jaundice and complications like gallstones and hypertension. This is not to mention the ulceration of the mouth that can be caused if sap from the flower is ingested.

It seems best to just keep Agapanthus off your grocery list and in your garden. Though, if handled correctly Agapanthus can show some love when applied medicinally for anti-inflammation, relief from coughing and a positive influence on the immune system. This is accomplished by extracting the saponins and sapogenins from the plant. (www.theflowerexpert.com) In other words, don't try this at home, unless your homeopathic ambitions are worth risking turmoil on your red blood cells.

While we may have strayed from the true essence of this blue African beauty, its medicinal value holds symbolic meaning as well. In its native land, expectant mothers would boil down Agapanthus roots and drink the tonic for health and to encourage labor contractions. The mothers would often adorn a charm made from the dried agapanthus roots as a token of good health for the expected baby. (www.gardenguides.com)

The love flower held symbolism for "healthy baby" in South Africa, but Queen Victoria pushed its symbolism up to the courting stage of love. The Queen's rein, known as the Victorian era, promoted the language of flowers, which utilized sometimes secret, others overt, meanings behind a gesture of flowers. Agapanthus rightly took the role of being a love letter in the botanical form.

So, as long as you're certain no sap will be ingested, send this flower on its way as a message of love. If you're in the Parker, Colorado area, Mainstreet Flower Market has a walk in special on lovely blue bunches of Agapanthus this week.

Sources:
(1) Hanneke van Dijk, Agapanthus for Gardeners, Timber Press, 2004
(2) http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/flowersandseasons/agapanthus
(3) http://www.gardenguides.com/122265-meaning-agapanthus.html
(4) Mainstreet Flower Market: www.mainstreetflowermarket.com