Eucomis pallidiflora subsp. pole-evansii

Eucomis pallidiflora subsp. pole-evansii, commonly known as a pineapple lily (as are several other Eucomis species) or giant pineapple lily, is a robust perennial reaching heights around 1,2 m.

The stems and hairless leaves are plain green, unmarked but wavy along the margins and cream to pale yellow on their broad midribs.

An erect raceme of numerous, stalked, cream or pale green flowers is topped by a relatively small tuft of terminal bracts. The flowers are about 2,5 cm in diameter, their pedicels about 2 cm. Flowering happens from before midsummer to early autumn.

The subspecies distribution is in Mpumalanga from Lydenburg southwards and in Eswatini (Swaziland).

The plants grow in marshes and vleis where they may form large colonies. The subspecies is considered to be endangered in its habitat early in the twenty first century due to harvesting for the traditional medicine market, drainage of wetlands for farming, grazing by cattle and urban expansion (Manning, 2009; Onderstall, 1984; http://redlist.sanbi.org).