TODAY'S FLOWER - Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Amaryllis is a monotypic (only one species) genus of plant also known as the Belladonna Lily or naked ladies.
The single species, Amaryllis belladonna, is a native of South Africa, particularly the rocky southwest region near the Cape.
It is often confused with the Hippeastrum, a flowering bulb commonly sold in the winter months for its propensity to bloom indoors.

The species was introduced into cultivation at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
However, most of the so-called Amaryllis bulbs sold as 'ready to bloom for the holidays' belong to the allied genus Hippeastrum, despite being labeled as 'Amaryllis' by sellers and nurseries.

Adding to the name confusion, some bulbs of other species with a similar growth and flowering pattern are also sometimes called by another common name for this plant, "naked ladies", even though those species have their own more widely used and accepted common names, such as the Resurrection Lily (Lycoris squamigera).

Die Gattung Amaryllis war ursprünglich von Carl von Linné (Carl Linnaeus) weit breiter gefasst worden als heute.

Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts kam es zu einer Aufspaltung dieser Gattung, wobei der wissenschaftliche Name Amaryllis auf die aus der kapnahen Bergregion Südafrikas stammende Belladonnalilie (Amaryllis belladonna) eingeschränkt wurde.

Umgangssprachlich und auch im Pflanzenhandel werden aber auch heute noch weitere Arten der früheren Großgattung als „Amaryllis“ bezeichnet, insbesondere die aus Südamerika stammenden Arten der Rittersterne (Hippeastrum).

collage by ghb 2008 -

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