Editing Amaryllis

{{Short description|Genus of plants}}
{{About|a genus of southern African bulbs|the South American [[houseplant]] commonly sold as "amaryllis"|Hippeastrum|other uses}}
<!-- DO NOT ADD IMAGES OF 'Amaryllis' the ornamental South American flower which is genus Hippeastrum, Not Amaryllis  -->
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = March lilly grave 1.JPG
|image_caption = ''Amaryllis belladonna''
|taxon = Amaryllis
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = [[#Species|See text]].
|type_species = ''[[Amaryllis belladonna]]''
|type_species_authority = L.
}}

'''''Amaryllis''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|m|ə|ˈ|r|ɪ|l|ɪ|s}})<ref>{{cite book |last=Brenzel |first=Kathleen Norris |date=2001 |title=The New Sunset Western Garden Book |publisher=Sunset Publishing |pages=606–607}}</ref> is the only [[genus]] in the [[subtribe]] Amaryllidinae ([[tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Amaryllideae]]). It is a small genus of flowering [[bulb]]s, with two species. The better known of the two, ''[[Amaryllis belladonna]]'', is a [[native plant|native]] of the [[Western Cape]] region of South Africa, particularly the rocky southwest area between the [[Olifants River (Western Cape)|Olifants River]] Valley and [[Knysna, Western Cape|Knysna]].<ref name="Biodiveristyexp">{{cite web | url=http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/plants/amaryllidaceae/amaryllis_belladonna.htm | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125125015/http://biodiversityexplorer.org/plants/amaryllidaceae/amaryllis_belladonna.htm | archive-date=2018-01-25 | title=Amaryllis belladonna (March lily, Belladonna) | publisher=Biodiversity Explorer | access-date=February 2, 2020}}</ref>

For many years there was confusion among botanists over the generic names ''Amaryllis'' and ''Hippeastrum'', one result of which is that the common name 'amaryllis' is mainly used for [[cultivar]]s of the genus ''[[Hippeastrum]]'', widely sold in the winter months for their ability to [[flower|bloom]] indoors.

Plants of the genus ''Amaryllis'' are known as belladonna lily, Jersey lily, naked lady, amarillo, Easter lily in Southern Australia or, in South Africa, March lily due to its propensity to flower around March. This is one of numerous genera with the common name 'lily' due to their flower shape and growth habit. However, they are only distantly related to the true lily, ''[[Lilium]]''. In the Victorian [[language of flowers]], amaryllis means "love, beauty, and determination", and can also represent hope and achievement.<ref>{{cite web |last1=P. |first1=Rebekah |title= Amaryllis Flower Meaning and Symbolism |url=https://florgeous.com/amaryllis-flower-meaning/#:~:text=The%20etymology%20of%20the%20word,belong%20to%20the%20hippeastrum%20genus.&text=The%20word%20Hippeastrum%20refers%20to,flowers'%20star%2Dlike%20design. |website=Florgeous |date=17 April 2020 |access-date=19 October 2020}}</ref>

== Description ==
[[File:Amaryllis belladonna flowers.jpg|thumb|right|''Amaryllis belladonna'' flowers]]
''Amaryllis'' is a [[bulb]]ous plant, with each bulb being {{cvt|5–10|cm}} in diameter. It has several strap-shaped, [[Leaf#Timing|hysteranthous]], green [[leaf|leaves]] with [[Glossary of botanical terms#midrib|midrib]], {{cvt|30–50|cm}} long and {{cvt|2–3|cm}} broad, arranged in two rows.

Each bulb produces one or two leafless, stout, persistent and erect stems {{cvt|30–60|cm}} tall, each of which bears at the top a cluster of two to twelve [[Floral symmetry#zygomorphic|zygomorphic]], funnel-shaped [[flower]]s without a tube. Each flower is {{cvt|6–10|cm}} in diameter with six spreading [[tepal]]s (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. [[Stamen]]s are very shortly [[connation|connate]] basally, [[Glossary of botanical terms#declinate|declinate]], unequal. [[Stigma (botany)#Style|Style]] is declinate, [[Stigma (botany)|stigma]] is three-lobed. [[Ovule]]s are approx. 8 per [[locule]]. Seeds are compressed-globose, white to pink. The number of [[chromosome]]s is 2''n'' = 22.<ref name=Meerow>{{Cite book
| last1  = Meerow
| first1 = Alan W.
| author-link1 = Alan Meerow
| last2  = Snijman
| first2 = Deirdre A.
| author-link2 = Dierdré A. Snijman
| chapter = ''Amaryllidaceae''
| editor-last  = Kubitzki
| editor-first = Klaus
| editor-link = Klaus Kubitzki
| title  = The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants
| volume = III
| pages = 83–110
| publisher = Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH
| date = 1998
| isbn = 978-3-642-08377-8
| doi = 10.1007/978-3-662-03533-7
| s2cid = 30159571
}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The single genus is in [[subtribe]] Amaryllidinae, in the tribe [[Amaryllideae]]. The taxonomy of the genus has been controversial. In 1753 [[Carl Linnaeus]] created the name ''Amaryllis belladonna'', the [[type species]] of the genus ''Amaryllis''. At the time both South African and South American plants were placed in the same genus; subsequently they were separated into two different genera. The key question is whether Linnaeus's type was a South African plant or a South American plant. If the latter, ''Amaryllis'' would be the correct name for the genus ''[[Hippeastrum]]'', and a different name would have to be used for the genus discussed here. [[Alan W. Meerow]] et al. have briefly summarized the debate, which took place from 1938 onwards and involved botanists on both sides of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. The outcome was a decision by the 14th International Botanical Congress in 1987 that ''Amaryllis'' {{small|L.}} should be a conserved name (i.e. correct regardless of priority) and ultimately based on a specimen of the South African ''[[Amaryllis belladonna]]'' from the [[George Clifford III|Clifford Herbarium]] at the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] in London.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Meerow |first1=Alan W. |last2=Van Scheepen |first2=Johan |last3=Dutilh |first3=Julie H.A. |year=1997 |title=Transfers from ''Amaryllis'' to ''Hippeastrum (Amaryllidaceae)'' |journal=[[Taxon (journal)|Taxon]] |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=15–19 |doi=10.2307/1224287 |jstor=1224287 |name-list-style=amp }}</ref>

===Species===
{{As of|2020|October}}, ''Amaryllis'' had only two accepted species, both native to the [[Cape Provinces]] of South Africa:<ref name="POWO_331133-2">{{cite web |title=''Amaryllis'' L. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331133-2 |access-date=2020-10-19 }}</ref>
*''[[Amaryllis belladonna]]'' {{small|L.}} – south-west Cape Provinces; introduced into many parts of the world, including California, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand<ref name="POWO_62705-1">{{cite web |title=''Amaryllis belladona'' L. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:62705-1 |access-date=2020-10-19 }}</ref>
*''[[Amaryllis paradisicola]]'' {{small|Snijman}} – west Cape Provinces

=== Phylogeny ===
Amaryllidinae are placed within Amaryllideae as follow:

These are phylogenetically related as follows:

{{clade
| label1= Tribe '''Amaryllideae'''
| 1= {{clade
| 1= Subtribe '''Amaryllidinae'''
| 2= {{clade
| 1= Subtribe [[Boophoninae]]
| 2= {{clade
| 1= Subtribe [[Strumariinae]]
| 2= Subtribe [[Crininae]]
 }}
}}
}}
}}

===Etymology ===
The name ''Amaryllis'' is taken from a shepherdess in [[Virgil]]'s pastoral ''[[Eclogues]]'', (from the [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] {{langx|grc|[[:wikt:ἀμαρύσσω|ἀμαρύσσω]]|amarysso|to sparkle|label=none}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=amaryllis|title=Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Amaryllis|author=Mike Campbell|work=Behind the Name}}</ref><ref>Linné, Carl von. 1737. Hortus Cliffortianus. p. 135</ref>

Although the 1987 decision settled the question of the scientific name of the genus, the common name 'amaryllis' continues to be used differently. Bulbs sold as amaryllis and described as "ready to bloom for the holidays" belong to the allied genus ''[[Hippeastrum]]''.<ref>E.g. {{Citation |title=How to Make Your Amaryllis Bloom Again |publisher=The United States National Arboretum |url=http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/faqs/AmaryllisBloom.html |access-date=2011-11-28 }}</ref> The common name "naked lady" comes from the plant's pattern of flowering when the foliage has died down. This name is also used for other bulbs with a similar growth and flowering pattern; some of these have their own widely used and accepted common names, such as the resurrection lily (''[[Lycoris squamigera]]'').{{sfn|Carter|2015}}

== Habitat ==
In areas of its native habitat with mountainous [[fynbos]], flowering tends to be suppressed until after bush fires as dense overhead vegetation prevents growth. In more open sandy areas of the Western Cape, the plant flowers annually.<ref name="Biodiveristyexp" /> Plants tend to be very localized in dense concentrations due to the seeds' large size and heavy weight. Strong winds shake loose the seeds, which fall to ground and immediately start to germinate, aided by the first winter rains.<ref name="Biodiveristyexp" />

== Ecology ==
The leaves are produced in the autumn or early spring in warm climates depending on the onset of rain and eventually die down by late spring. The bulb is then dormant until late summer. The plant is not frost-tolerant, nor does it do well in tropical environments since they require a dry resting period between leaf growth and flower spike production.

One or two leafless stems arise from the bulb in the dry ground in late summer (March in its native habitat and August in [[hardiness zone|USDA zone 7]]).

The plant has a [[Symbiosis|symbiotic]] relationship with [[carpenter bee]]s. It is also visited by [[Noctuidae|noctuid moths]] at night. The relative importance of these insects as pollinators has not yet been established;<ref name="Biodiveristyexp" /> however, carpenter bees are thought to be the main pollinators of amaryllis on the [[Cape Peninsula]]. The plant's main parasite is the lily borer<ref name="Plantz">{{cite web | url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/amarylbella.htm | title=Amaryllis belladonna L. | publisher=PlantZAfrica.com | date=March 2001 | access-date=March 4, 2013 | author=Adams, T}}</ref> ''[[Brithys crini]]'' and/or ''[[Diaphone eumela]]''.

==Cultivation==
[[File:Flore des serres v14 053a.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.7|''Amaryllis belladonna'', illustration from {{lang|fr|"Flore des serres"}} volume 14, 1861]]
''Amaryllis belladonna'' was introduced into cultivation at the beginning of the eighteenth century. It reproduces slowly by either bulb division or seeds and has gradually naturalized from plantings in urban and suburban areas throughout the lower elevations and coastal areas in much of the West Coast of the US since these environments mimic their native South African habitat. Hardiness zones 6–8.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/bulbs-summer/amar_bella.html |title=North Carolina State University |access-date=2013-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404211934/http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/bulbs-summer/amar_bella.html |archive-date=2013-04-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is also naturalized in Australia.<ref name=APNI>{{APNI | name =''Amaryllis belladonna'' L. | id =31403 | accessdate = 4 March 2014 }}</ref>

There is an ''Amaryllis belladonna'' hybrid which was bred in the 1800s in Australia. No one knows the exact species it was crossed with to produce color variations of white, cream, peach, magenta and nearly red hues. The hybrids were crossed back onto the original ''Amaryllis belladonna'' and with each other to produce naturally seed-bearing crosses that come in a very wide range of flower sizes, shapes, stem heights and intensities of pink. Pure white varieties with bright green stems were bred as well. The hybrids are quite distinct in that the many shades of pink also have stripes, veining, darkened edges, white centers and light yellow centers, also setting them apart from the original light pink. In addition, the hybrids often produce flowers in a fuller circle rather than the "side-facing" habit of the "old-fashioned" pink. The hybrids are able to adapt to year-round watering and fertilization but can also tolerate completely dry summer conditions if need be.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}

''A.&nbsp;belladonna'' has gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector – ''Amaryllis belladonna''|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=115|access-date=21 May 2013}}</ref>

''Amaryllis belladonna'' has been crossed in cultivation with ''[[Crinum moorei]]'' to produce a hybrid called [[× Amarcrinum|×&nbsp;''Amarcrinum'']],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/XAmarcrinum|title=Pacific Bulb Society – ×Amarcrinum|work=pacificbulbsociety.org}}</ref> which has named cultivars. Hybrids said to be between ''Amaryllis belladonna'' and ''[[Brunsvigia josephinae]]'' have been called [[× Amarygia|×&nbsp;''Amarygia'']].<ref>{{Citation|title=Plant Profile: ''Amarygia'' – Amaryllis belladonna x Brunsvigia josephinae|publisher=Australian Gardener|url=http://www.ausgardener.com.au/plant-care/Amarygia.html|access-date=2011-11-28|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322103927/http://www.ausgardener.com.au/plant-care/Amarygia.html|archive-date=2012-03-22}}</ref> Neither hybrid genus name is accepted by the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families''.<ref>{{Citation|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=The Board of Trustees of the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/home.do |access-date=2011-11-28 }}, search for "Amarcrinum" and "Amarygia"</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of plants known as lily]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite web|last1=Carter|first1=Kathie|title=Amaryllis. ''Amaryllis belladonna'' (''Brunsvigia rosea'') and ''Hippeastrum'' hybrids|url=http://www.ucanr.org/sites/UrbanHort/files/80184.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.ucanr.org/sites/UrbanHort/files/80184.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|website=Center for Landscape and Urban Horticulture|publisher=Cooperative Extension/Botany Plant Sciences Dept. University California Riverside|access-date=24 January 2015|ref={{harvid|Carter|2015}}}}
{{Refend}}

{{Amaryllidaceae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q161577}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Amaryllidoideae]]
[[Category:Amaryllidaceae genera]]
[[Category:Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces]]
[[Category:Garden plants of Africa]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]