Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Common name: Lily of the Incas, New Zealand Christmas bell, Parrot flower, Parrot lily, Peruvian lily, Princess lily

Family: Alstroemeriaceae (Inca lily)

Distribution: South America

IUCN Red list: Not evaluated

Comments: Normally grown as annuals for their colorful spring flowers. The cultivated types produce large showy flowers. Some members of this group can be real pests in the garden because of their aggressive spread where conditions are favourable. Perhaps the most fascinating- and telltale- morphological trait of Alstroemeria and its relatives is the fact that the leaves are resupinate, that is, they twist from the base so that what appears to be the upper leaf surface, is in fact the lower leaf surface.