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Amaryllidaceae FAMILY

Pancratium maritimum

Pancratium maritimum

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

The bulb is somewhat poisonous[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Bulb
Growth—

Requires a light very well drained sandy soil in a very sunny position[2]. Requires a warm sheltered position when grown outdoors in Britain[3]. Requires a hot dry summer in order to fully ripen its bulb, it is more easily grown in a bulb frame in Britain[3]. Tolerates temperatures down to about -5°c[3], it is only hardy in the milder areas of Britain, requiring protection even there in the winter[4]. The bulb should be planted deeply and rapid spring growth should be encouraged[4]. Another report says that plants are easily grown outdoors in Britain but that the leaves are susceptible to frost damage and the plant does not flower well in an average British summer[5]. The flowers have an exotic lily scent[6].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[3]. Pre-soak stored seed for 1 hour in warm water and then sow in spring in a warm greenhouse in a light sandy soil[4]. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 months at 22°c. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings can be left undisturbed in the pot for their first two years of growth. Give them an occasional liquid feed in the growing season to ensure they do not become nutrient deficient. When the plants become dormant in late summer, pot up the small bulbs placing 2 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for another one or two years in the greenhouse before planting them out when they are dormant in late summer. Division of offsets when the plant dies down in late summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Pancratium+maritimum>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1969 · ISBN 0192176218 ↩︎An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
  2. [2]Hardy Bulbs.; Including Half-hardy Bulbs and Tuberous and Fiberous-rooted Plants — Grey. C. H. · Williams & Norgate. · 1938 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]Bulbs — Phillips. R. and Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1989 · ISBN 0-330-30253-1 ↩︎Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.
  6. [6]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  7. [7]Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1980 · ISBN 0-19-217626-9 ↩︎A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.
  8. [8]Alpine Garden Society Bulletin. Volume 56. — ? · Alpine Garden Society · ISBN - ↩︎Excerpts from the periodical. Some details on Corydalis spp.
  9. [9]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  10. [10]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Flowers of the Mediterranean. — Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. · Hogarth Press · 1987 · ISBN 0-7012-0784-1 ↩︎A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.
  12. [12]Herbs of Greece. — Niebuhr. A. D. · Herb Society of America. · 1970 · ISBN - ↩︎A pleasant little book about Greek herbs.