Agapanthus inapertus ssp. intermedious Seeds

Drakensberg Agapanthus, Drooping Agapanthus (E), Bloulelie (A)
Family : Agapanthaceae (Agapanthus Family)

The drooping agapanthus is an attractive, tuberous plant which occurs naturally in open grassland and on forest margins through Mpumalanga, Swaziland, northern KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Northern Province. It often occurs in mountainous, rocky areas and is common along the Drakensberg Escarpment.

The beautiful, dark blue to violet (occasionally white) flowers are held in dense heads on stalks up to 1.5m high. The individual flowers are tubular and pendulous (hence the common name "drooping agapanthus"). Flowering takes place from January to March.

The plants form dense clumps after a number of years with 6-8 leaves per shoot. The leaves are narrow, strap-shaped, grey-green and form a stem at the base of the plant. They are usually arranged in a fan shape and may be up to 500mm long. Unlike the more commonly cultivated agapanthus, the drooping agapanthus is deciduous and goes completely dormant in the dry winter months.

There are 6 different species of Agapanthus in South Africa that are endemic to South Africa, occurring nowhere else in the world. The botanical name, Agapanthus, is derived from the Greek agape (love) and anthos (flower). The species name inapertus is Latin meaning "closed" referring to the narrow tubular flowers. There are five subspecies of Apagapanthus inapertus which differ from each other in the shape and size of the flowers. Various cultivars have also been selected which are particularly attractive such as Agapanthus inapertus subsp. pendulus which has exceptionally dark blue flowers.