Hymenocallis littoralis: Spider lily

Family: Amaryllidaceae
Common name: Spider lily, Spider lily, Hymenocallis

Spider lily plants are one of the easiest, fuss-free plants you can grow in your garden in pots, or on the ground. They are loved by gardeners for their long green foliage and beautiful bunches of white flowers.

Plant characteristics
Spider lily plants grow to a height of 50-60 cm with long, flat, strap-like, dark green leaves. These leaves are arranged in rosette-like pattern, curving outwards and downwards from the center of the plant.

Leaves are dark green, about 60-80 cm long and 10-15 cm wide with a prominent mid-vein. Young leaves stay upright, whereas older leaves bend and fall over the edges of pots making these plants look very beautiful indeed.

Spider lilies have the most unique-looking flowers; a thin membrane cup in the middle surrounded by six long white petals, and long, thin, orange-tipped stamens.

The flowers 10-12 cm in diameter and looks very dramatic when they bloom in large clusters.

Spider lily plants bloom almost throughout the year with tall stalks having large bunches of beautiful white flowers standing tall, high above the broad, strappy leaves. The inflorescence usually consists of 8-10 flowers on long stalk, and range in color from yellow, green and white.

Fruits and seeds are not commonly produced in garden plants, and hence they rely mostly on vegetative propagation.

Gardening tips
Blooming needs good direct sunlight, though the plant can look good even without the blooms. The plants require very minimal care making it an ideal choice for amateur gardeners.

Most lily plants can be ignored after they settle into the new soil. Spent flowers are not a good sight to see. So it’s better to cut the stalk once it has stopped blooming.

There are over 60 species of these bulbous lilies, all of them loved by gardeners for their beautiful foliage and flowers.

Uses of Spider lily
Though these plants are mostly grown as ornamental plants, some part of it were used in traditional herbal medicine to heal wounds, cuts, and stomach disorders.

Since these plants grow quickly, covering large areas, they can effectively protect the topsoil preventing soil erosion.

Propagation
Propagation is from root bulbs.

Mature plants produce small bulbs and offset plants all around them, which can be carefully separated without breaking the bulbs, and replanted to produce small plants.

Photographed at: Sobha Petunia, Bangalore