Агапантус: описание, виды и распространение

Genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae
Automatic taxobox
|image = Agapanthus africanus1. jpg
|image caption = Agapanthus praecox
|taxon = Agapanthus
|authority = L'Hér. |type species = Agapanthus africanus
|type species authority = T. Durand and Schinz
|synonyms ref= is a genus of plants, the only one in the subfamily Agapanthoideae of the family Amaryllidaceae. The family is in the monocot order Asparagales. The name is derived from Greek: ἀγάπη (agapē – "love"), ἄνθος (anthos – "flower"). Some species of Agapanthus are commonly known as lily of the Nile, or African lily in the UK. However, they are not lilies and all of the species are native to Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique), though some have become naturalized in scattered places around the world (Australia, Great Britain, Mexico, Ethiopia, Jamaica, etc.). Species boundaries are not clear in the genus, and in spite of having been intensively studied, the number of species recognized by different authorities varies from 6 to 10. The type species for the genus is Agapanthus africanus. Many hybrids and cultivars have been produced. They are cultivated throughout warm areas of the world. They can especially be spotted throughout Northern California. Most of these were described in a book published in 2004.

Agapanthus is a genus of herbaceous perennials that mostly bloom in summer. This leads to the Australian common name, Star of Bethlehem, as it blooms just before Christmas. The leaves are basal, curved, and linear, growing up to long. They are rather leathery and arranged in two opposite rows. The plant has a mostly underground stem called a rhizome (like a ginger 'root') that is used as a storage organ. The roots, which grow out of the rhizome, are white, thick and fleshy. The inflorescence is a pseudo umbel subtended by two large deciduous bracts at the apex of a long, erect scape, up to tall. They have funnel shaped or tubular flowers, in hues of blue to purple, shading to white. Some hybrids and cultivars have colors not found in wild plants which includes bi colored blue/lavender and white flowers flushed with pink as the blooms mature. The ovary is superior. The style is hollow. Agapanthus does not have the distinctive chemistry of Allioideae.

The genus Agapanthus was established by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1788.

In some regions, some agapanthus are listed as invasive species of plants. In New Zealand, Agapanthus praecox is classed as an "environmental weed" and calls to have it added to the National Pest Plant Accord have encountered opposition from gardeners.

As a rule, Agapanthus species are pest hardy, neither being much attacked nor drastically affected by common garden pests. However, since the early 21st century Agapanthus in the far south of South Africa have fallen victim to a species of noctuid moth, the Agapanthus borer, Neuranethes spodopterodes. The larvae of the moth bore into the budding inflorescence and as they mature they tunnel down towards the roots, or emerge from the stem and drop down to feed on the leaves or rhizomes. A severe attack promotes rot and may stunt or even kill the plant; even plants that survive commonly lose most of their inflorescences and fail to produce the desired show of flowers. Though Neuranethes spodopterodes is invasive in the regions where it has emerged as a pest, it is not an exotic invader, but a translocated species, having been imported inadvertently from its natural range in more northerly regions of the country. In its original range, the moth is not of horticultural importance, being controlled by natural enemies that as yet have neither been identified nor imported along with the host plants. In contrast, the Agapanthus borer is of considerable concern in the South West, and its voracity is so impressive that the species shows promise as a possible control for invasive Agapanthus praecox in countries like New Zealand. In 2016, a new species of gall midge, Enigmadiplosis agapanthi, was described damaging Agapanthus in the United Kingdom.

Agapanthus has low potential for causing allergies; its OPALS allergy scale rating is 2 out of 10.