2. Subgenus Crinum, Ex. Stenaster forms, pedicellated


II. Stenaster forms with pedicellated blossoms, typical of C. asiaticum and species native to the interior of Africa.

Figure 6 Fig. 6: Crinum asiaticum. This narrow petaled form is near the original type cited by Ker-Gawler in 1807. There are innumerable variations, many to be seen in Hawaii at the Waimea Botanical Gardens. This form is presumably from south China.
Figure 7 Fig. 7: Crinum asiaticum var. procerum, form Splendens. The procerum variants are huge plants, often eight feet high, and many are vividly pigmented. This one with the deep red-green foliage was noted at the Japanese Embassy in Honolulu.
Figure 8 Fig. 8: Another broad-leaf form of C. asiaticum var. procerum! It was used as a traffic screen or sound barrier on Kohala Ave. in Honolulu.
Figure 9 Fig. 9: Another C. asiaticum var. procerum with rigid foliage. Many seedlings do not come true to form and this is probably a selected clone, possibly from some temple in Burma.
Figure 10 Fig. 10 Typical open umbel of a red C. procerum form, as noted at Kaaawa, pronounced Ka-a-a-wa, on Oahu. Hawaii. Obviously I had to name this form C. procernum var. Kaaawanum to plague the printers.
Figure 11 Fig. 11: A close-knit bud-form, typical of many C. procerum forms. Since many C. procerum do not breed true, it is common practice to slip the bud-sport suckers which form about old leaf-scars along the exposed trunks.
Figure 12 Fig. 12: Crinum pedunculatum, native to Australia. These are actually variants of C. asiaticum, but adapted to subtropical conditions. Those farthest south are found along the Hunter River in N. S. W.
Figure 13 Fig. 13: I first saw this yellow foliage Crinum xanthophyllum in Fiji and thought it had a virus. Its source is still unknown, and since no botanical description could be found I named and described it in the Louisiana Society for Horticultural Research Bulletin in 1971. The golden yellow foliage makes a striking show when grown under humid tropical conditions. It needs acid soil.
Figure 14 Fig. 14: Crinum xanthophyllum in Fiji. The plant is remotely related to C. asiaticum, but bears few blossoms, normally less than 10 to 12.
Figure 15 Fig. 15: Crinum augustum Roxburgh. This striking natural hybrid is from the Seychelles and Mauritius and can best be identified by the large conical bulb which is near 15 cm. in diameter, while the colored tepals are 8-10 cm. long by 12-16 mm. wide. The plants are completely sterile.

Modern botanists seem to think all natural hybrids should be shown with an x, i.e.: C. x agustum. Early botanists all saved ink by concluding that they had encountered an aborted bud sport.

Figure 16 Fig. 16: A C. augustum blossom. You can almost smell the fragrance!
Figure 17 Fig. 17: Crinum amabile Donn. A sterile hybrid from Sumatra. The blossoms resemble C. augustum but the bulbs are smaller like C. moorei with a long leafy neck supporting the spreading leaves. The bulb is known as the 'Queen Emma Lily' in Hawaii. Quite a planting exists at her summer home in Kauai.
Figure 18 Fig. 18: Crinum x 'Hana'. A sterile hybrid found at Hana Ranch, Maui. It is unique in that its buds open in a random centrifugal manner. A group makes a striking show when in flower. Did I hear someone say the road to Hana was crooked?