Name
Pineapple Flower or Pineapple Lily
Latin Name
Eucomis sp.
Description
The Pineapple Flower is a perennial herb; the rootstock is a bulb, 10 cm in diameter and flat at the base with numerous white roots. The leaves are pressed flat against the ground; about twelve. Midrib is thick, margin undulated and finely crinkled. Inflorescence is a dense raceme, and flowers last for many weeks in water. The plant flowers in December.
Habitat
The Pineapple Flower grows on the Sneeuberg, Uitenhage District, Hogsback through to Kwazulu Natal, where it grows from the coast to the Drakensberg. It extends through Basutoland and the Orange Free State to the Gauteng region and surrounding provinces.
Field Notes
There are ten species of Pineapple Flower in Southern Africa including Eucomis undulata and Eucomis autumnalis. The bulb of the Pineapple Plant is toxic but it is still used medicinally in South Africa in treatments for enemas, backache and in healing fractures. Other treatments include urinary problems, stomach ache, fevers, colic, flatulence, hangovers and syphilis.
