Pancratium maritimum

801_6220 [Pancratium maritimum]

I consider Pancratium maritimum one of the most attractive plants in the Mediterranean countries.

Its large, pure white, trumpet-shaped flowers are of striking beauty and appear from July onwards.

Its leaves, contrary to most flowers, are green in winter but they get dry when the flowers appear.

 

 

302_9242 [Pancratium matitimum]

 

It grows from a bulb which is buried deep into the sand:

a fact that allows the plant to withstand the heat in the hottest months of the year.

 

 

IMG_8712 [Pancratium maritimun]

 

We rarely see single plants emerging from the sand.

Instead, we see it come out in clusters.

 

 

IMG_8674 [Pancratium maritimum]

 

IMG_8699[Pancratium maritimum]

 

The fruit of the plant.

 

 

All photographs were taken at Legrena on various summer dates over the last 3-4 years.

 

 

Pancratium maritimum

IMG_8675 [Pancratium maritimum]

 

Pancratium maritimum,

commonly known as the Sand Lily or Sand Daffodil,

is one of the most attractive flowering plants of the Mediterranean region.

It thrives in coastal sand dunes along the Mediterranean coastline

and blooms from July to October.

 

 

 

IMG_8707 [Pancratium maritimum]

 

These plants usually grow in clumps

and can reach a height of about 50 cm.

Unlike most flowering plants,

their leaves are green during winter

but wither and dry up as the flowers begin to appear.

 

303_6801 [Pancratium maritimum]

The flowers are large, pure white, trumpet-shaped,

and remarkably beautiful;

a fact that maks them one of the most striking sights

on Mediterranean beaches.

 

 

IMG_8706 [Pancratium maritimum]

 

The plant produces three-sided fruit capsules

that release large, lightweight black seeds.

If carried into the nearby seawater,

the seeds float and are dispersed by sea currents,

allowing the species to colonize other sandy coastal habitats.

 

 

Pancratium maritimum 2

BBB8049 [Pancratium maritimum]

Pancratium maritimum with large, white and fragrant flowers miraculously emerges from the sand that is generally considered sterile soil.

BBB8079 [Pancratium maritimum]



TRV900 Fr [Pancratium maritimum]


Sounio: 07/08/2010, photos © Tony Taglides



Pancratium maritimum

300_6801 [Pancratium maritimum]

The flower:
when time comes, it will turn into the fruit (below).

300_6826 [Pancratium maritimum]

The fruit:
when time comes, it will hopefully provide us with another beautiful Pancratium maritimum to shoot!
 

Both photographed at Legrena on July 31, 2018

Pancratium maritimum

IMG_5629 [Pancratium maritimum]

Pancratium maritimum: The well-known sea daffodil

that is in bloom this month and adorns a lot of sandy beaches in Greece.

 

For more info and a short video please see older posts HERE.

 

 

Pancratium maritimum

IMG_0002 [Pancratium maritimum]

Pancratium maritimum,

commonly known as the Sand Lily or Sand Daffodil,

thrives in coastal sands and is seen in full bloom

from August to October.

 

 For more info, pictures and video please see older posts HERE.

 

 

Pancratium maritimum 1

BBB2131 [Pancratium maritimum]

A beautiful flower found in summer on the sand by the beach. At this stage the flower is at the end of its life-cycle. It will soon produce its "characteristic fruits [that] resemble pieces of charcoal; they are light in weight and float on the sea, which disperses them along the shore". [See: Papiomitoglou Vangelis Wild Flowers of Greece, Mediterraneo Editions, 2006]

Sounio: 07/08/2009, photo © Tony Taglides

Pancratium maritimum

801_6229 [Pancratium maritimum]

Photographed near Sounio on July 29, 2014

Pancratium maritimum

 _8010193-2 [Pancratium maritimum]

Photographed near Sounio on September 6, 2013

  

Pancratium maritimum

CCC_9350 Pancratium maritimum

Sounio: 30/08/2012, photo © Tony Taglides

Pancratium maritimum

IMG_0036 [Pancratium maritimum]

Sounio: 12/09/2011, photo © Tony Taglides

VIDEO: Pancratium maritimum