Discussion

Amaryllis

A Confusion of Names

The plant name Amaryllis is used for two different herbaceous perennial plants with similar-appearing blossoms. One, with the genus name Amaryllis, is comprised of only two species; Amaryllis belladonna and Amaryllis paradisicola. Some of the common names for them are belladonna lily, Jersey lily, naked lady, and amarillo. The photo below shows naked ladies. Note that there are no leaves surrounding the stem. The leaves come out in early spring and then die out completely by June, after which the stems with its flowers appear around July or August.

The Amaryllis genus is native to South Africa. Neither it nor the species in the genus discussed below are true lilies in spite of their common names.

The other plant using the amaryllis name is native to tropical American regions. The name of that genus is Hippeastrum. Amaryllis is one of its common names. Others are fire lily, knight's star lily, Barbados lily, and Dutch amaryllis. The Hippeastrum genus is comprised of 116 species and over 600 hybrids. Several of its species are extremely popular with nurseries and customers because they bloom from mid-August through early spring, with the peak around Christmas when few other plants are in bloom. Its relatively large, colorful blossoms usually last two to three weeks when cut.

If the naming situation sounds confusing, it was even more so for botanists. Different groups of them applied the amaryllis name inconsistently. That situation was finally resolved by vote at a botanical conference in 1987. Now, botanists know what they are referring to when they use the name amaryllis, even if we don't.

One way to tell the difference between plants in the Amaryllis genus versus plants in the Hippeastrum genus is to lightly pinch the stems. Amaryllis genus stems are solid and Hippeastrum genus stems are hollow. My painting subject this week is an amaryllis that belongs to the Hippeastrum genus. From here on, I will only be discussing amaryllis species in that genus.

Hippeastrum Amaryllis

With 116 Hippeastrum genus species, there is considerable opportunity for variation in appearance. Here are some of the more popular ones.

Note that in each case, there appears to be six petals on each blossom. They are actually tepals. The three inner ones are what are traditionally thought of as petals. The three outer ones are parts of the calyx, normally called sepals. However when sepals are roughly the same color as the petals instead of the normal green, the petals and sepals combined are called tepals. Each blossom also has six stamens.

My painting subject is the very popular red lion amaryllis.  The blossoms are eight inches in diameter and grow on 20 to 24 inch tall stems.

Hippeastrum plants grow from bulbs.

When not forced, red lion amaryllis bulbs begin to sprout in the late autumn to early winter. Stems come first. A single bulb will produce 1 to 3 stems depending on the size with larger bulbs producing more stems.

Straight, hollow stems push up from the bulb, and 3 to 5 weeks after sprouting begins, buds begin to open. The photo below shows one bud beginning to open, but it is a little more complex than that.

From that one bud at the top of the stem, multiple blossom buds will emerge.

The next photo shows blossoms opened up. Two are fully open and a couple are opened partway. Each stem produces 3 to 6 blossoms. They open in sequence. The plant in this photo appears to be a Minerva amaryllis, but it is the same for all Hippeastrum species.

Hippeastrum amaryllis flowers can self-pollinate, but fewer seeds are produced that way than when cross-pollination occurs. Insects help with that. Five to ten days after individual blossoms fully open, they begin to wilt. Within a few weeks, seed pods become visible where the ovaries were at the base of the blossoms. These ones are already starting to open up.

Amaryllis plants grown from seeds take 3 to 6 years before the new bulbs are mature enough to produce flowers. During that maturation period, they grow leaves that generate energy through photosynthesis. A quicker way to grow new amaryllis plants is by separating bulb offsets or daughter bulbs. Plants grown from offsets can produce blossoms within 2 to 3 years.

Amaryllis plants are toxic; especially the bulbs. They are easy to grow and make attractive house plants, but they should be placed out of reach of pets and children. They also look good in gardens.