Amaryllis belladonna - Jersey or March Lily (Amaryllidaceae Images)

Images taken of cultivated plants that were once part of the NCCPG National Collection of Amaryllis, at The African Garden, Estover, Plymouth, Devon.

The genus Amaryllis is a genus of two species of bulbs from the Western Cape of South Africa, Amaryllis belladonna and Amaryllis paradisicola; and lends its name to the family to which it belongs, the Amaryllidaceae.

Confusion reigns with the name of the genus as in the 18th Century and before many species were lumped into either Amaryllis or Lilio-Narcissus and these include the genera of Hippeastrum, Sprekelia, Nerine, Crinum and Brunsvigia. Amaryllis is still in use as common name for the genus Hippeastrum.

Amaryllis belladonna also has its common names, in the UK, as 'Belladonna Lilies' or 'Jersey Lily', in South Africa as 'The March Lily', in the United States as 'Naked Lady', in Portugal as 'Bordao de Sao Jose (St. Joseph's Staff), as St. Rosalina in Sicily, or St. Rosa or The Madonna Lily in Italy; and sometimes in Spain as 'Meninas Para Escola', translating to 'Girls going to School' and because they bloom in late September at the beginning of the school year, when girls in pink uniforms start attending classes.

The name 'Bordao de Sao Jose or 'St. Joseph's Staff' is the most significant name to me, for I have found that the bulb was most likely imported into Europe by the Portuguese in the 16th Century and probably between 1497 and 1510.

This species is probably more represented in cultivation by its hybrid Amaryllis belladonna 'Purpurea Major'.

For more images of South and Southern African bulbs visit The African Garden website.

APHOTOFLORA

An online educational resource and botanical image library dedicated to
the flora; wildflowers, trees, shrubs, ferns, liverworts and mosses, found in
South-West England, mostly around Devon and Cornwall, by David Fenwick.

APHOTOFLORA

An online educational resource and botanical image library dedicated to the flora; wildflowers, trees, shrubs, ferns, liverworts and mosses, found in South-West England, mostly around Devon and Cornwall, by David Fenwick.

An online educational resource and botanical image library dedicated to
the flora; wildflowers, trees, shrubs, ferns, liverworts and mosses, found in
South-West England, mostly around Devon and Cornwall, by David Fenwick.