Pancratium maritimum
| Sea daffodil | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Amaryllidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Amaryllidoideae |
| Genus: | Pancratium |
| Species: | P. maritimum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pancratium maritimum | |
| Synonyms | |
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Pancratium maritimum, or sea daffodil, is a species of bulbous plant native to both sides of the Mediterranean region and the Black Sea, from the Canary Islands, Portugal, Morocco, and Cyprus, and east to Turkey, Syria, Israel and the Caucasus. Parts of its range on the coasts of the Black Sea include southern Bulgaria, northern Turkey and Georgia. It is also naturalized in southern California, Bermuda and the Azores.
Pancratium maritimum grows on beaches and coastal sand dunes, often with much of the leaves and scapes buried in the sand. Other vernacular names are sea lily, sand daffodil, sand lily and lily of St. Nicholas, (although it is not a true lily). The specific epithet maritimum means "of the sea".