文殊兰 wen shu lan

Crinum sinicum Roxburgh ex Herbert, Bot. Mag. 47: 7 sub t. 2121. 1820.

Herbs perennial, stout. Bulbs narrowly cylindric. Leaves 20--30, dark green, linear-lanceolate, ca. 100 × 7--12 cm, margin undulate, apex acuminate, sharply pointed. Flowering stem erect, nearly as long as leaves. Umbel 10--24-flowered; bracts linear, 3--7 mm; involucres 2, lanceolate, 6--10 cm, membranous. Flowers fragrant; pedicel 0.5--2.5 cm. Perianth salverform; tube greenish white, straight, 7--10 cm × ca. 2 mm; lobes white, linear, 4.5--9 × 0.6--0.9 cm, apex acuminate. Stamens reddish; filament 4--5 cm; anther linear, more than 1.5 cm, apex acuminate. Ovary fusiform, less than 2 cm. Capsule subglobose, 3--5 cm in diam. Seed often 1. Fl. summer.

* Seashores, sandy places near river banks. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan.

The Chinese plant is widely cultivated as an ornamental and is used medicinally.