Its species epithet amboinensis was named after the island of Ambonia, now
Ambon in
Indonesia.[2]
Description
The Caldwell lily grows on seashores and rocky places up to an altitude of 500 metres.[4]: 366 It prefers open, lightly shaded rainforests.[8][page needed] It grows from a bulb measuring up to 8 centimetres in diameter;[9] it grows quickly after the arrival of the wet season in Australia.[8][page needed] Its leaves are ovate and nearly circular measuring 20–30 cm long and 15–35 cm wide from stalks between 15 and 60 centimetres long.[4]: 366 [9] The leaves die away in the dry season.
Umbel
Cardwell lily flower umbel
A total of 5–25 white flowers grow in an
umbel on stalks over between 15 and 90 cm long,[4]: 366 each flower is trumpet shaped and release a pleasant scent with filaments 2–3 mm long.[9] Flowering in Australia typically begins in late December while flowering season in India is from May to June.
Fruit produced from pollination are green to blackish capsules 25–30 mm across.[10][11][9]
Cultivation and uses
It is a good container plant that needs much water in the growing season. Propagate from seed or lift the bulb.[8]
^Mullins, Effie (2012).
"The genus Proiphys". Growing Native Plants. Australian National Botanic Gardens and Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
^Fay, Michael F.; Chase, Mark W. (1996). "Resurrection of Themidaceae for the Brodiaea alliance, and Recircumscription of Alliaceae, Amaryllidaceae and Agapanthoideae". Taxon. 45 (3): 441–451.
^
abcScarth-Johnson, Vera (2000). National Treasures: Flowering Plants of Cooktown and Northern Australia. Vera Scarth-Johnson Gallery Association.
ISBN0-646-39726-5.