Description
The familiar P. maritimum is widely spread around the sandy sea-shores of the Mediterranean from Portugal to as far east as Turkey. The vastly rarer Pancratium illyricum is found only in Corsica and Sardinia. If memory serves me, this was taught in my Botany degree many years ago, as being a tetraploid plant with a limited geographical range, whilst the wide-ranging P. maritimum was regarded as diploid.
Unlike P. maritimum this is usually a mountain plant growing in sparse rocky woods, flowering in early summer and then dying back and spending its summer below ground.
It makes decorative, broad, blue-green leaves. These are borne with the blooms. Stems 60cm tall carry large, pure white and very highly fragrant flowers. These are large white trumpets surrounded by narrow petals in classic Pancratium fashion. They are very substantial and lovely. Larger bulbs carry up to 12 flowers per scape and can bear 3 scapes.
This is the hardiest of all of the Pancratium (to US zone 7-8) and it is found at over 4,000 ft in some of its wild localities. It takes well to cultivation especially in a sheltered position or at the base of a south-facing wall.
This stock is raised from a bulb acquired in 1991 which started to propagate in 2000! They do not develop offsets or side bulbs easily, the books only say “propagate by division” which is one way to put it!
