Amaryllis

Amaryllis

Taxobox
name = "Amaryllis"



image_caption = "Naked Lady" flowers in the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, California.
image_width = 300px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Asparagales
familia = Amaryllidaceae
genus = "Amaryllis"
species = "A. belladonna"
binomial = "Amaryllis belladonna"
binomial_authority = L.

"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.

Characteristics

It is a bulbous plant, with each bulb being 5-10 cm in diameter. It has several strap-shaped, green leaves, 30-50 cm long and 2-3 cm broad, arranged in two rows. The leaves are produced in the autumn or early spring in cold climates and eventually die down by late spring. The bulb is then dormant until late summer.

In late summer (August in zone 7) each bulb produces one or two naked stems 30-60 cm tall, each of which bear a cluster of 2 to 12 funnel-shaped flowers at their tops. Each flower is 6-10 cm diameter with six sepals (three outer sepals, three inner petals, with similar appearance to each other). The usual color is white with crimson veins, but pink or purple also occur naturally. This pattern of flowering at a different time from when foliage appears is the cause of its common name "naked lady". [http://www.thegoodwebguide.co.uk/index.php?art_id=558]

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").

The name

The botanic name "Amaryllis" is taken from a shepherdess in Virgil's pastoral "Eclogues," from the Greek αμαρυσσω (Latin "amarysso") meaning "to sparkle." [http://behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=amaryllis]

It is used as a given name for females. The plant is also known as the "Jersey Lily", named after the Channel Island.

External links

* [http://www.hippeastrum.info Amaryllis and Hippeastrum Info Forum Cultivation etc(Ger+Eng)]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • amaryllis — [ amarilis ] n. f. • 1771; lat. bot. , du gr. Amarullis, n. pr. ♦ Plante (amaryllidacées) bulbeuse ornementale, dont il existe de nombreuses espèces, aux fleurs éclatantes et odorantes. Amaryllis jaune. ● amaryllis nom féminin (latin Amaryllis,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Amaryllis — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Amaryllis (homonymie) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Amaryllis — Sf (eine Zierpflanze) per. Wortschatz fach. (18. Jh.) Onomastische Bildung. Eigentlich gräzisierender Name einer Hirtin in Vergils Eklogen; in der Neuzeit übertragen auf die Blume.    Ebenso nndl. amaryllis, ne. amaryllis, nfrz. amaryllis, nschw …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Amaryllis — (Платаниас,Греция) Категория отеля: Адрес: Platanias, Платаниас, 73100, Греция …   Каталог отелей

  • Amaryllis — kann bedeuten: eine Pflanzengattung, siehe Amaryllis (Gattung) auch andere Gattungen der Amaryllisgewächse, Familie: Amaryllidaceen, insbesondere die Rittersterne (Hippeastrum) den Asteroiden (1085) Amaryllis die Fee Amaryllis in dem Kinderbuch… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • AMARYLLIS — rusticae nomen, cuius Theocritus, et Virgilius meminerunt. Virg. Eclog. 1. v. 31. Postquam nos Amaryllis habet, Galatea reliquit. Quô locô signat Amaryllis Romam, ubi Tityrus nactus est libertatem; Galatea Mantuam, ubi fingit se servum fuisse.… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Amaryllis — (Мармарион,Греция) Категория отеля: Адрес: Likorema, Marmariou, Мармарион, 34013, Греция …   Каталог отелей

  • Amaryllis — Am a*ryl lis, n. [L. Amaryllis, Gr. ?, ?, the name of a country girl in Theocritus and Virgil.] 1. A pastoral sweetheart. [1913 Webster] To sport with Amaryllis in the shade. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. (bot.) (a) A family of plants much esteemed… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Amaryllis — (Сан Вито Ло Капо,Италия) Категория отеля: 2 звездочный отель Адрес: Nunzio Maniaci 09, 91 …   Каталог отелей

  • amaryllis — (n.) autumn flowering bulbs, 1794, adopted by Linnaeus from Latin, from Gk. Amaryllis, typical name of a country girl or shepherdess (in Theocritus, Virgil, Ovid, etc.) …   Etymology dictionary

  • amaryllis — [am΄ə ril′is] n. [< L & Gr Amaryllis, a shepherdess name in poems by Virgil and Theocritus] any of several plants (esp. genus Hippeastrum) of the lily family bearing several white, purple, pink, or red flowers on a leafless stem, including the …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”