Commercial Floriculture

Description of the Plant

Plant Morphology Polianthes tuberose is a half hardy, bulbous perennial. It has a tuberous root-stock has adventitious and shallow with a mass of basal foliage. The leaves are light-green, long, narrow and very dense /rosette, grass- like. The leaves sometimes reddish near the base. The flowering stems are long and can reach a height of up to 100 cm, although 60 to 75 cm is normal. It is approxi¬mately the top third of the stem which bears the pure, white, waxy-textured raceme of blooms. The flowers have funnel shaped perianth, measures 3 to 6 cm in length, fragrant and are borne in pairs on a long spike. The segments are 1 to 2 cm long; the tube is long, narrow and funnel-shaped, slightly bent near the base. The filaments are attached to the upper part of the corolla. The ovary is 3-celled; there are 3 stigmas which are ovate-falcate. The fruit is crowned by a persistent perianth and the seeds are flat.

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