Eucrosia is a genus in the Amaryllidaceae family from the western slopes of South American, namely Equador and Peru. The plants flower late Spring or early Summer, before the leaves appear. They require a well drained soil, bright light and a temperature that remains above 50F. Flowers are in umbels on tall stems, and some species have extremely reduced tepals but very long stamens that give the umbel the appearance of an elegant mop! Numerous offsets are produced; plants can also be raised from seed.
Eucrosia aurantiaca is a species that is native to Ecuador with 6 to 14 gold yellow flowers in an umbel. Photos by Mary Sue Ittner taken June 2007 in the greenhouse of Telos Rare Bulbs.
Eucrosia bicolor Native to Ecuador and Peru. This species grows very well in tropical climates. It produces plenty of leaves (as seen in photo #6) and multiplies quickly. There seems to be only one clone in cultivation because attempts to pollinate plants from multiple accessions did not result in seed production. Keep the bulbs pot-bound (1 gallon) to induce mass blooming. Photos #1-4 by Jacob Knecht and #5 by Nhu Nguyen.
Eucrosia mirabilis A stunning plant in flower, I encountered it for the first time at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The flowers are on a stalk about 8 dm. tall. Each umbel is 20 cm. across. There were numerous spherical bulbs, many about 10 cm in diameter, sitting at the soil surface. The leaves, which appear after the flowers, are about 15 cm. wide by 30 cm. long on a mature plant. The plants have a dormant period during the winter. First two photos by Dave Brastow. Photos three and four by Jacob Knecht show the foliage of a plant grown in Honolulu, Hawai`i. In the fourth photo, a distinctive glaucous quality is visible in the leaf undersides.
