Sumatran Giant Lily (Crinum amabile)

Sumatran Giant Lily (Crinum amabile)

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

This plant is known locally as the Sumatran Giant Lily (Crinum amabile).   I've also seen it referred to as the Giant Spider Lily in some sources.  According to Angela Kay Kepler's book Hawai'i's Floral Splendor [Honolulu: Mutual Publishing, 1997], this plant has been cultivated in Hawaii for more than a century.   For those of us with gardens located close to the ocean, the Sumatran Giant Lily has the advantage of being salt tolerant.  The blossoms smell good, too!  The plant is native to the Indonesia island of Sumatra, hence the name.