Striking, Dependable Pineapple Lilies

The exceptionally long-lasting flower heads of the summer-growing Eucomis species have captivated gardeners around the world for centuries.

- Graham Duncan

This small genus of 12 species in the hyacinth family (Hyacinthaceae) is endemic to the southern African countries of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, as well as Zimbabwe and Malawi in southern tropical Africa. All of the species are represented in South Africa, and almost all are summer growing, except for E. regia from the winter rainfall parts of the Northern and Western Cape. The name Eucomis is derived from the Greek ‘eu’ and ‘komos’, meaning ‘beautifully haired’, and refers directly to the beautiful or prominent head (coma) of leaf-like bracts that overtops the flower head (similar to that of a pineapple) and which is a characteristic feature of all members of the genus. The species vary remarkably from dwarf, ground-hugging plants such as the maroon-flowered E. vandermerwei