Press Release
Rare Flowering
of Giant Spear Lily
Doryanthes palmeri (or Queensland Mountain Lily)
26th April 2004
For immediate release
The
Spear Lily in the Temperate Glasshouse at the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew, has burst into flower, to the delight of Kew’s horticulturists.
This plant is famous for its huge leaves, some 2 metres long, and the
fact that it flowers very rarely. This slow-growing lily came to Kew
as a seed in 1948. In 55 years it has only bloomed on three previous
occasions - in 1966, 1982 and 1993.
“We have been watching the formation of the bud for several months, but now the scarlet flower with blue pollen has appeared and should be in flower until mid-May,” said David Cooke, Manager of the Temperate House.
This graceful member of the Agavaceae is native to the coastal areas of northern New South Wales and Queensland. The numerous sword-like leaves - up to 2 metres long - are arranged in dense rosettes which eventually form large clumps with thickened underground stems and contractile roots which pull the plant closer to the ground during dry weather.
The brilliant red funnel-shaped flowers are produced on a leafy stem some 3 metres long and the fruit is a woody 3-celled capsule containing several flat seeds.
Although the seed germinates readily, Doryanthes palmeri grows very slowly, taking many years to reach flowering size.
A photograph of the flower may be seen on Kew’s website using
the following link:
www.kew.org/whatsnew/spearlily.html
Kew Gardens is just 25 minutes from Charing Cross by District line
tube and 20 minutes by overland train from Waterloo. Free parking is
available on Kew Road and Kew Green after 10.00am. Entry is £8.50
for adults, £6.00 concessions, children 16 and under are free.
Kew Gardens is open daily from 9.30am and closes at 6.30pm on weekday
and, 7.30pm at weekends and bank holidays. For details about visiting
Kew phone 020 8332 5655 or www.kew.org.
For further information and images please contact Ali Cuthbert or Hannah
Rogers at Kew Press Office: tel 020 8332 5607 (please note: not for
publication) or email pr@kew.org
Hannah Rogers Press Office Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Richmond TW9 3AB
Tel 020 8332 5607 Fax 020 8332 5610
Kew Gardens - Now designated a World Heritage Site Our mission: To enable
better management of the Earth's environment by increasing knowledge
and understanding of the plant and fungal kingdoms - The basis of life
on Earth.
For further Press information please contact:
|
Kew: Public Relations Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5607/5619 |
Wakehurst Place: Public Relations Tel: +44 (0)1444 894018 |
