Bomarea

Plant Characteristics

Lifespan:	⌛	perennial

Cultivation

Features:	✓	flowers
Flower features:	❀	red

Scientific Names

Alstroemeriaceae >

Bomarea >

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Bomarea is one of the two major genera in the plant family Alstroemeriaceae. Most occur in the Andes. Several species are occasionally found as garden plants.

It is essentially a twining version of their relatives in Alstroemeria, though some species stand freely upright.

Perhaps the most fascinating — and telltale — morphological trait of most if not all Alstroemeriaceae is the fact that the leaves are resupinate: they twist from the base so that what appears to be the upper leaf surface is in fact the lower leaf surface.

Read about Bomarea in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Bomarea (named after the French botanist, J. C. W. deBomare). Amaryllidaceae. Tender South American plants allied to Alstroemeria, and with similar fls. but a twining habit. Lvs. parallel-veined, usually borne on short, twisted petioles: fls. in pendulous umbels, variously colored and spotted, borne in early spring and summer; perianth funnel-shaped; tube none. The most beautiful species now grown is probably B. carderi. It has large terminal cymes of rose-colored flowers, about 2 inches long, with dark purple spots and blotches. Another valuable form is B. shuttleworthii with pale yellow flowers, spotted with green. Bomareas delight in a rich, fibrous soil, and require plenty of water during the growing season, which begins early in the spring. A little, well-decayed cow-manure mixed with the soil improves the growth and results in larger clusters of flowers, as does also manure watering during the growing season. Late in fall the stems are cut down to the ground and the roots are kept in the soil in a dry state. While they often make satisfactory pot-plants, they do best when planted out in an open sunny position in a cool conservatory where they have plenty of air in summer. In the south, bomareas may be grown in the open air on trellises in half-shady places. All are woodland plants and cannot be successfully grown in the glaring heat of the sun. Propagation is by fresh seeds, which germinate readily if sown in shallow pans in a warm propagating- house; also, and more rapidly, by careful division of the rhizome, to which some of the roots should be attached. B. Wercklei, Lemoine. Lvs. lanceolate, acuminate, bright green: fls. about 12 in a terminal umbel, vermilion—orange, with orange- yellow inside. Costa Rica. N. J. Rose. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Species

Selected species:

• Bomarea acutifolia
• Bomarea angustifolia
• Bomarea borjae
• Bomarea brachysepala
• Bomarea ceratophora
• Bomarea chimborazensis
• Bomarea elegans
• Bomarea glaucescens
• Bomarea goniocaulon
• Bomarea gracilis
• Bomarea graminifolia
• Bomarea hartwegii
• Bomarea lanata
• Bomarea longipes
• Bomarea lutea
• Bomarea lyncina
• Bomarea uncifolia

Gallery

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External links

• w:Bomarea. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Bomarea QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)