{{Short description|Species of plant}} {{redirect|Tuberose|the album by Amanda Lear|Tuberose (album){{!}}''Tuberose'' (album)}} {{Speciesbox | name = tuberose | image = Tuberose flower.jpg | taxon = Polianthes tuberosa | authority = L. | synonyms = {{Collapsible list| {{Species list |Agave amica|(Medik.) Thiede & Govaerts |Agave polianthes|Thiede & Eggli, nom. superfl. |Agave tuberosa|(L.) Thiede & Eggli, nom. illeg. |Crinum angustifolium|Houtt. |Polianthes gracilis|Link |Polianthes tuberosa ''var.'' gracilis|(Link) Beurl. |Polianthes tuberosa ''f.'' plena|Moldenke |Tuberosa amica|Medik. }} }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name=powo>{{cite web |title=''Polianthes tuberosa'' L. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:318009-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=11 October 2025}}</ref> }}
'''''Polianthes tuberosa''''', the '''tuberose''', is a perennial plant in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, extracts of which are used as a note in perfumery. Now widely grown as an ornamental plant, the species is native to Mexico.
==Etymology== The common name derives from the Latin ''tuberosa'' through French ''tubéreuse'',<ref name=Wedg55/> meaning swollen or tuberous in reference to its root system.
== Description == The tuberose is herbaceous, growing from underground tubers or tuberous roots. It produces offsets. The leaves are a dull green and about {{cvt|1|–|1.5|ft|cm|-1}} long and up to {{cvt|0.5|in|mm|0}} wide at the base. They are slightly succulent. The inflorescence is a spike, reaching up to {{cvt|3|ft|m|0}} high, with pure white waxy flowers. The flowers are tubular, with a tube up to {{cvt|2.5|in|cm|0}} long, separating into six flaring segments (tepals) at the end, and are strongly fragrant. There are six stamens, inserted into the tube of the flower, and a three-part stigma.<ref name=IrisIris00>{{Citation |last1=Irish |first1=Mary |last2=Irish |first2=Gary |date=2000 |contribution=''Polianthes tuberosa'' Linnaeus |title=Agaves, Yuccas and Related Plants : A Gardener's Guide |location=Portland; London |publisher=Timber Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/agavesyuccasrela0000iris/page/233 233–234] |isbn=978-0-88192-442-8 |name-list-style=amp |url=https://archive.org/details/agavesyuccasrela0000iris/page/233 }}</ref>
The double-flowered cultivar 'The Pearl' has broader and darker leaves, and shorter flower spikes, usually reaching only {{cvt|1.5|–|2|ft|cm|-1}}. Orange-flowered forms of the species have been reported.<ref name=IrisIris00/> As well due to crossing with other species there are now yellow, pink, red and greenish forms.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
==Taxonomy== The species was first described for science by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.<ref name=IPNI_318009-2/> In 1790, Friedrich Kasimir Medikus moved the species to the genus ''Tuberosa'' as ''Tuberosa amica''.<ref name=IPNI_66971-1/><ref name=WCSP_532780/> When morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies concluded that ''Polianthes'' is embedded within the larger genus ''Agave'', the genus was included in a broadly circumscribed ''Agave''.<ref name=BoglPireFran06/><ref name=GoodSouzGautEgui06/> Two incorrect attempts were made to name the species when transferred to ''Agave''. In 1999, Joachim Thiede and Urs Eggli published the name "''Agave tuberosa''". However, Philip Miller had published this name in 1768, for the species now called ''Furcraea tuberosa'',<ref name=IPNI_62321-1/> so it could not be used again, and Thiede and Eggli's name is illegitimate. In 2001, Thiede and Eggli published a replacement name (''nomen novum''), "''Agave polianthes''". However, since Medikus's ''Tuberosa amica'' is considered to be a synonym of ''Polianthes tuberosa'', its epithet is the second oldest and according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants should be used when the older epithet is unavailable. Hence Thiede and Eggli's second name is superfluous,<ref name=WCSP_294100/> and the correct name for the species within ''Agave'' is ''Agave amica'', as was explained by Thiede and Rafaël Govaerts when they published this combination in 2017.<ref name=ThieGova17/>
In 2024 Vázquez-García ''et al.'' reinstated the genera ''Manfreda'', ''Polianthes'', and ''Prochnyanthes'', which together form a distinct clade, and described the three new genera ''Echinoagave, Paraagave'', and ''Paleoagave'', to leave a monophyletic ''Agave'' sensu stricto.<ref>Vázquez-García, J.A., C.S. Rosales-Martínez, J. Padilla-Lepe, G. Hernandez-Vera, y L.J. García-Morales. 2024. New genera and new combinations in Agavaceae (Asparagales). ''Phytoneuron'' 2024-02: 1–14. Published 15 January 2024. ISSN 2153-733X</ref>
==Distribution== The tuberose is believed to be native to central and southern Mexico.<ref name=WCSP_532780/> It is no longer found in the wild, probably as a result of being domesticated by the Aztecs. It is currently grown in many tropical and temperate countries.<ref name=IrisIris00/> ''Polianthes tuberosa'' is the only one of the species in genus ''Polianthes'' in commercial cultivation.<ref name="hello" />
==Uses== ===In perfumery=== The overwhelming fragrance of the tuberose has been distilled for use in perfumery since the 17th century, when the flower was first transported to Europe. French Queen Marie Antoinette used a perfume called ''Sillage de la Reine'', also called ''Parfum de Trianon'', containing tuberose, orange blossom, sandalwood, jasmine, iris and cedar.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.mimifroufrou.com/scentedsalamander/2007/01/ma_sillage_de_la_reine_perfume.html| title=M.A. Sillage de la Reine by Chateau de Versailles| author=Chant Wagner| publisher=MimiFroufrou.com| date=2007-01-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/froth-and-folly-nobility-and-perfumery-at-the-court-of-versailles/| title=Froth and Folly: Nobility and Perfumery at the Court of Versailles| author=Saskia Wilson-Brown| publisher=blogs.getty.edu| date=2015-06-26| access-date=2018-03-26}}</ref> It remains a popular floral note for perfumes, either in stand-alone Tuberose fragrances or mixed floral scents, but it generally must be used in moderation because the essence is overpowering and can become sickly to the wearer.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.instyle.com/beauty/best-tuberose-fragrances#3088511| title=This Floral Note Is So Sexy, It Was Banned in the Victorian Era | author=Marianne Mychaskiw| publisher=InStyle Magazine| date=2017-10-13| access-date=2018-03-26}}</ref>
===Others=== In Indonesia, tuberose flowers are also used in cooking.<ref name="SharangiDatta2015">{{cite book |author1=Amit Baran Sharangi |author2=Suchand Datta |title=Value Addition of Horticultural Crops: Recent Trends and Future Directions |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XnrdBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |access-date=17 December 2017 |date=27 February 2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-81-322-2262-0 |page=96 |chapter=5.3.6: Tuberose}}</ref>
In Hawaii, they are one of the main flowers used in the construction of leis.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Trujillo |first1=E. E. |title=Diseases of Tuberose in Hawaii |date=1968 |publisher=University of Hawaii |location=Honolulu |page=13 |edition=Cooperative Extension Service Circular 427 |url=http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/C1-427.pdf |access-date=10 October 2015}}</ref> Some others are plumerias, ginger, orchids, and pikake (jasmine).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-02 |title=7 of Hawaii's Most Popular Lei and What Makes Them Unique |url=https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/7-of-hawaiis-most-popular-lei-and-what-makes-them-unique/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=Hawaii Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Cultivation == thumb|Flowers of the double-flowered cultivar 'The Pearl' thumb|Tuberose seeds
Tuberoses can be overwintered outdoors in hardiness zones 8-10.<ref>[https://store.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/summer/productview/?sku=90-02 Brent and Becky's Bulbs] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130616124526/https://store.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/summer/productview/?sku=90-02 |date=2013-06-16 }}</ref> In colder zones, tuberoses are grown as summer annuals, in pots or mixed-flower borders where they can be enjoyed for their scent. To flower the plants require around 4 months of warm temperatures from the time the rhizome is planted. Gardeners usually start the rhizomes in pots in greenhouses beginning in late-winter or early spring, moving them outdoors in late spring once frost danger has passed.<ref name=Bren07p555/> If they are started directly in the ground at this time, they may not bloom until September, greatly reducing the period in which their blooms may be enjoyed. Once the foliage begins to yellow in October, the leaves should be clipped, the rhizomes dug and stored in a cool, dry and dark place for the winter.<ref name=Bren07p555>{{cite book| title=Sunset Western Garden Book| author=Kathleen Norris Brenzel| year=2007| page=555}}</ref>
The most popular variety is a double-flowered cultivar known as 'The Pearl' that grows to {{cvt|2.5|ft|cm|0}} tall and features pale pink buds opening to cream.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.burpee.com/flowers/tuberose/tuberose-the-pearl-88963.html| title=The Pearl Tuberose| publisher=Burpee Seeds| access-date=2018-01-30}}</ref> The more common variety is called 'Mexican Single', which, although not as decorative as 'The Pearl', makes for a longer lasting cut flower.<ref name=Bren07p555/>
Tuberoses were especially beloved by Louis XIV of France, who had them planted in the hundreds in the flower beds of the Grand Trianon at Versailles so that the scent was overpowering, which no doubt helped cover the smells from the poor sanitation{{Broken anchor|date=2024-07-29|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Palace of Versailles#Sanitation|reason= The anchor (Sanitation) has been deleted.}} of the palace. They were grown in clay pots and planted directly in the ground; to keep the perfume consistently strong new specimens were rotated in, sometimes daily.<ref>{{cite book| title=Versailles: A Biography of a Palace| author=Tony Spawforth| year=2008| page=15}}</ref>
thumb|Tuberose bulbs taken out for seasonal replantation thumb|New shoots emerging from the bulbs of tuberose
== Cultural significance == In 1885, Oscar Wilde and the French poet Marc-André Raffalovich corresponded via letters in ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' on whether the name ''tuberose'' should be pronounced with two syllables (as 'tube rose') or three. Raffalovich stressed that its derivation from Latin ''tuberosa'', meaning 'knobbly-rooted', meant the latter was correct. Wilde responded defending the flower's beauty: {{Blockquote |text=I am deeply distressed to hear that tuberose is so called from its being a 'lumpy flower'. It is not at all lumpy, and, even if it were, no poet should be heartless enough to say so. Henceforth there really must be two derivations for every word, one for the poet and one for the scientist. And in the present case the poet will dwell on the tiny trumpets of ivory into which the white flower breaks, and leave to the man of science horrid allusions to its supposed lumpiness and indiscreet revelations of its private life below ground. }}<ref name="Selleri-2024"/>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Tube rose buds.jpg|Buds File:Tuberose buds.jpg|Top view of buds before blooming File:Tube rose at night view.jpg|Night view of the flower File:Tube rose at early age.jpg|Condition after about 3 weeks </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=BoglPireFran06>{{Cite journal |last1=Bogler |first1=David J. |last2=Pires |first2=J. Chris |last3=Francisco-Ortega |first3=Javier |date=2006 |title=Phylogeny of Agavaceae based on ndhF, rbcL, and ITS sequences: Implications of molecular data for classification |journal=Aliso |volume=22 (Monocots: Comparative Biology and Evolution) |pages=313–328 |doi=10.5642/aliso.20062201.26 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317799826 |access-date=2019-06-02 |name-list-style=amp |doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name=hello>{{cite journal |title= Effect of Fertilization and Planting Date on the Production and Shelf Life of Tuberose|journal= Agronomy|date=February 2023 |volume=13 |issue=2 |page=422 |doi=10.3390/agronomy13020422 |doi-access=free |last1=Castañeda-Saucedo |first1=Ma Claudia |last2=Tapia-Campos |first2=Ernesto |last3=Ramirez-Anaya |first3=Jessica del Pilar |last4=Barba-Gonzalez |first4=Rodrigo |last5=Pita-Lopez |first5=Maria Luisa }}</ref>
<ref name=GoodSouzGautEgui06>{{Citation |last1=Good-Avila |first1=Sara V. |last2=Souza |first2=Valeria |last3=Gaut |first3=Brandon S. |last4=Eguiarte |first4=Luis E. |date=2006 |title=Timing and rate of speciation in ''Agave'' (Agavaceae) |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA |volume=103 |issue=24 |pages=9124–9129 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0603312103 |pmid=16757559 |pmc=1482577 |name-list-style=amp |bibcode=2006PNAS..103.9124G |doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name=IPNI_62321-1>{{cite web |title=Plant Name Details for ''Agave tuberosa'' Mill. |work=The International Plant Names Index |url=http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=62321-1 |access-date=2019-06-02 }}</ref>
<ref name=IPNI_66971-1>{{cite web |title=Plant Name Details for ''Tuberosa amica'' Medik. |work=The International Plant Names Index |url=http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=66971-1 |access-date=2019-06-02 }}</ref>
<ref name=IPNI_318009-2>{{cite web |title=Plant Name Details for ''Polianthes tuberosa'' |work=The International Plant Names Index |url=http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=318009-2 |access-date=2019-06-02 }}</ref>
<ref name="Selleri-2024">{{cite journal |last1=Selleri |first1=Andrea |title=The Roots of Wilde's Tuberose |journal=Notes and Queries |date=2024 |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=113–115 |doi=10.1093/notesj/gjae011|doi-access=free }}{{open access}}</ref>
<ref name=ThieGova17>{{Cite journal |last1=Thiede |first1=J. |last2=Govaerts |first2=R.H.A. |date=2017 |title=New combinations in ''Agave'' (Asparagaceae): ''A. amica'', ''A. nanchititlensis'', and ''A. quilae'' |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=306 |issue=3 |pages=237–240 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.306.3.7 |name-list-style=amp }}</ref>
<ref name=Wedg55>{{Cite journal |last1=Wedgwood |first1=Hensleigh |date=1855 |title=On False Etymologies |journal=Transactions of the Philological Society |issue=6 |page=66 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3924121;view=1up;seq=76 |access-date=2019-06-02 |author-link=Hensleigh Wedgwood }}</ref>
<ref name=WCSP_294100>{{cite web |title=''Agave polianthes'' Thiede & Eggli |work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=294100 |access-date=2019-06-02}}</ref>
<ref name=WCSP_532780>{{cite web |title=''Agave amica'' (Medik.) Thiede & Govaerts |work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=532780 |access-date=2019-06-02}}</ref>
}}
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Category:Agavoideae Category:Night-blooming plants Category:Flora of Guanajuato Category:Flora of Michoacán Category:Endemic flora of Mexico Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Perfume ingredients