BELLADONNA LILIES

Amaryllis belladonna, the Jersey lily, belladonna-lily, naked-lady-lily, or March lily, is a plant species native to Cape Province in South Africa but widely cultivated as an ornamental.

It is reportedly naturalized in many places: Corsica, Portugal, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, the Scilly Isles of Great Britain, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ascension Island, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Chile, California, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Juan Fernández Islands.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

AGAPANTHUS

Agapanthus is the only genus in the subfamily Agapanthoideae of the flowering plant family Amaryllidaceae. The family is in the monocot order Asparagales. The name is derived from scientific Greek: αγάπη (agape) = love, άνθος (anthos) = flower. Some species of Agapanthus are commonly known as lily of the Nile (or African lily in the UK), although they are not lilies and all of the species are native to Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique) though some have become naturalised in scattered places around the world (Australia, Great Britain, Mexico, Ethiopia, Jamaica, etc.). 

Species boundaries are not clear in the genus, and in spite of having been intensively studied, the number of species recognised by different authorities varies from 6 to 10. The type species for the genus is Agapanthus africanus shown here. A great many hybrids and cultivars have been produced and they are cultivated throughout warm areas of the world.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

AGAPANTHUS

Agapanthus is the only genus in the subfamily Agapanthoideae of the flowering plant family Amaryllidaceae. The family is in the monocot order Asparagales. The name is derived from scientific Greek: αγάπη (agape) = love, άνθος (anthos) = flower. Some species of Agapanthus are commonly known as lily of the Nile (or African lily in the UK), although they are not lilies and all of the species are native to Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique) though some have become naturalised in scattered places around the world (Australia, Great Britain, Mexico, Ethiopia, Jamaica, etc.).

Species boundaries are not clear in the genus, and in spite of having been intensively studied, the number of species recognised by different authorities varies from 6 to 10. The type species for the genus is Agapanthus africanus shown here. A great many hybrids and cultivars have been produced and they are cultivated throughout warm areas of the world.

In Melbourne, these are planted widely in gardens, parks but also median strips of roads and nature strips. As they bloom around the time of Christmas, most Melburnians associate this flower with the Festive Season.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

JONQUILS

Narcissus jonquilla (Jonquil, Rush daffodil) is a bulbous flowering plant, a species of Narcissus (daffodil) that is native to southwestern Europe and northern Africa, but has naturalised throughout Europe and the United States. It bears long, narrow, rush-like leaves (hence the name "jonquil", Spanish junquillo, from the Latin juncus = "rush"). It is in the Amaryllidaceae family of plants.

In Spring it bears heads of up to 5 scented yellow or white flowers. It is a parent of numerous varieties within Division 7 of the horticultural classification. Division 7 in the Royal Horticultural Society classification of Narcissus includes N. jonquilla and N. apodanthus hybrids and cultivars that show clear characteristics of those two species. N. jonquilla has been cultivated since the 18th century in France as the strongest of the Narcissus species used in Narcissus Oil, a component of many modern perfumes.

Like other members of their family, narcissi produce a number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if accidentally ingested. This property has been exploited for medicinal use in traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

IPHEION

Ipheion uniflorum is a species of flowering plant, related to the onions, so is placed in the allium subfamily (Allioideae) of the Amaryllidaceae. It is known by the common name spring star, or spring starflower. Along with all the species of the genus Ipheion, some sources place it in the genus Tristagma, but research published in 2010 suggested that this is not correct. It is native to Argentina and Uruguay, but is widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalised in Great Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand.

This is a small herbaceous perennial growing from a bulb and producing flat, shiny, green, hairless, grasslike leaves up to 30 cm long. The foliage has an onion-like scent when crushed. The stem grows up to 20 cm tall and bears a solitary showy flower in spring (hence the Latin name uniflorum - "single flower"). Each honey-scented, star-shaped flower has six pointed lobes up to 3 cm long in shades of very pale to deep purple-blue. Ipheion uniflorum has been grown in the UK since 1820, when bulbs collected from near Buenos Aires arrived in the country.

It is recommended for growing in a well-drained position outside or as a long-flowering pot plant in an unheated greenhouse. Various named forms are in cultivation, some of which may be hybrids. 'Wisley Blue' is a clear lilac blue; 'Froyle Mill' is a deeper violet blue; 'Album' is white. The cultivar 'Alberto Castillo', also white, has larger flowers and was collected in the 1980s by Alberto Castillo, the owner of Ezeiza Botanical Garden, from an abandoned Buenos Aires garden. In the USA, the species is stated to be hardy to USDA Zone 5, and is recommended for massing in borders, alpine gardens and other areas, or it can be naturalised in lawns.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BUSH LILY

Clivia miniata (Natal lily, bush lily) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clivia of the family Amaryllidaceae, native to damp woodland habitats in South Africa (Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces) as well as in Swaziland. It is also reportedly naturalised in Mexico.

It grows to a height of about 45 cm, and flowers are red, orange or yellow, with a faint, but very sweet perfume. It is sometimes known in cultivation as "Kaffir lily". However, this name is also confusingly applied to the genus Schizostylis, and in any case is best avoided as it is considered an offensive ethnic slur in South Africa.

With a minimum temperature of 10 °C, in temperate regions C. miniata is normally cultivated as a houseplant. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, along with the variety C. miniata var. citrina. It contains small amounts of lycorine, making it poisonous.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

THREE-CORNERNED LEEK

The three-cornered leek (Allium triquetrum) is an invasive weed in the Amaryllidaceae family, which is native to the Mediterranean and which can carpet large areas very quickly because of its rapidly germinating seeds that quickly form a dense clump of leaves and flowers. Both the English name and the specific epithet triquetrum refer to the three-cornered shape of the flower stalks. In New Zealand this plant is known as "onion weed".

Pretty though this three-cornered leek may be, don't be tempted to pick it as a cut flower because it does reek strongly of an oniony smell! However, you can pick it for eating, as all parts of the plant are edible. The leaves and flowers can be added to salads, and the bulbs can be substituted for garlic. The taste can be described as subtly flavoured like a leek or a spring onion. It may be consumed raw or cooked.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BLOOD FLOWER

Haemanthus coccineus (commonly known as the Blood Flower or Paintbrush Lily), is a bulbous geophyte in the genus Haemanthus, and the Amaryllidaceae family, native to Southern Africa. The generic name Haemanthus is derived from the Greek words haima for "blood" and anthos for "flower"; coccineus is the Latin word for red or scarlet. In the Afrikaans language it is known as Bergajuin, Bloedblom, and many other vernacular names.

The Blood Lily is native throughout the winter rainfall region in Southern Africa - from the southern parts of Namibia, to South Africa in the Cape Peninsula, to the Keiskamma River in the Eastern Cape. It is an adaptable species, growing in a wide range of soils derived from sandstones, quartzites, granites, shales and limestones. It will survive annual rainfall ranging from 100–1,100 millimetres.

The large (up to 10 cm diameter) flowerheads of Haemanthus coccineus emerge between February and April in the Southern Hemisphere, with scarlet spathe valves on them like bright shaving brushes, making it a striking plant. The flowers are soon followed by translucent, fleshy berries. There are usually two very large leaves per bulb, and occasionally three, these leaves appearing only after flowering has occurred. We have it growing in our garden quite happily and it always attracts a lot of attention when it is in bloom.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

NARCISSUS

Narcissus is a genus of predominantly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae family. Various common names including daffodil, daffadowndilly, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are generally white or yellow (orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus' in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten sections with approximately 50 species. The number of species has varied, depending on how they are classified, due to similarity between species and hybridisation. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The exact origin of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is often linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the youth of that name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English word 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

The species are native to meadows and woods in southwest Europe and North Africa with a centre of diversity in the Western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced into the Far East prior to the tenth century. Narcissi tend to be long-lived bulbs, which propagate by division, but are also insect-pollinated. Known pests, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes.

Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while others are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism. Dafffodil breeding has introduced a wide range of colours, in both the outer perianth tepal segment and the inner corona. In the registry, daffodils are coded by the colours of each of these two parts. Thus in the photo below of Narcissus 'Geranium', Tazetta (Division 8) has a white outer perianth and orange corona and is classified as 8 W-O.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

THREE-CORNERED LEEK

The three-cornered leek (Allium triquetrum) is an invasive weed in the Amaryllidaceae family, which is native tot he Mediterranean and which can carpet large areas very quickly because of its rapidly germinating seeds that quickly form a dense clump of leaves and flowers. Both the English name and the specific epithet triquetrum refer to the three-cornered shape of the flower stalks.

Pretty though this three-cornered leek may be, don't be tempted to pick it as a cut flower because it does reek strongly of an oniony smell! However, you can pick it for eating, as all parts of the plant are edible. The leaves and flowers can be added to salads, and the bulbs can be substituted for garlic. The taste can be described as subtly flavoured like a leek or a spring onion. It may be consumed raw or cooked.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Weekend Green meme.

SNOWFLAKE FLOWER

Leucojum is a small genus of bulbous plants belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae native to Eurasia. As currently circumscribed the genus includes only two known species Leucojum aestivum L. - summer snowflake or Loddon lily (Europe, Middle East, Caucasus; naturalised in Australia + North America) and Leucojum vernum L. - spring snowflake (southern + central Europe from Spain to Ukraine).  Leucojum is a compound of Greek λευκος, leukos "white" and ἰόν, ion "violet". The spelling Leucoium is also used. Other common names include snowbell, dewdrop, and St. Agnes' flower.

The snowflakes are native to central and southern Europe, from the Pyrenees to Romania and western Russia, but they have been introduced and have naturalised in many other areas, including the east coast of North America. They have narrow, strap-like, dark green leaves. The flowers are small and bell-shaped, white with a green (or occasionally yellow) spot at the end of each tepal. They have a slight fragrance.

Leucojum vernum (Spring snowflake) normally grows 15-20 cm tall, though it may reach up to 35 cm. It flowers one or two weeks later than the snowdrops, i.e., from mid-February to March, as soon as the snow melts in its wild habitat. Two varieties are known: L. vernum var. vernum with green spots on its tepals, and L. vernum var. carpathicum, which originates from the eastern part of its natural range, a larger plant with yellowish spots on its tepals; 'vagneri' from Hungary is a robust variant of var. vernum, often with two flowers per stem.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

HIPPEASTRUM LILY

Hippeastrum is a genus of about 90 species and over 600 hybrids and cultivars of perennial herbaceous bulbous plants. They generally have large fleshy bulbs and tall broad leaves, generally evergreen, and large red or purple flowers. Hippeastrum is a genus in the family Amaryllidaceae.

The name Hippeastrum, given to it by William Herbert, means "Knight's-star-lily", although precisely what Herbert meant by the name is not certain. 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 cultivars of this genus, often sold as indoor flowering bulbs particularly at Christmas in the northern hemisphere.

By contrast the generic name Amaryllis applies to bulbs from South Africa, usually grown outdoors. The genus is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas from Argentina north to Mexico and the Caribbean.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DAFFODIL DELIGHTS

Narcissus  is a genus of predominantly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common names including daffodil, daffadowndilly, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are generally white or yellow (orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus' in his "Species Plantarum" (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten sections with approximately 50 species. The number of species has varied, depending on how they are classified, due to similarity between species and hybridisation. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe.

The exact origin of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is often linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the youth of that name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English word 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

The species are native to meadows and woods in southwest Europe and North Africa with a centre of diversity in the Western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced into the Far East prior to the tenth century. Narcissi tend to be long-lived bulbs, which propagate by division, but are also insect-pollinated. Known pests, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while others are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism.

Here are some named garden varieties of Narcissus, exhibiting their tremendous variety and great beauty.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

Narcissus 'Actaea'

Narcissus 'Goldfinger'

Narcissus 'Melany'

Narcissus 'Bazaar' 

Narcissus 'Up Periscope'

Narcissus 'Parisienne'

Narcissus 'Tresamble'

CLIVIA NOBILIS

Clivia nobilis (green-tip forest lily), is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clivia, of the family Amaryllidaceae, native to South Africa. It grows to about 38 cm. It has evergreen strap-shaped leaves, and bears pendent umbels of multiple narrow, trumpet-shaped, red and yellow flowers, tipped with green. Like other members of the tribe Haemantheae to which it belongs, Clivia fruits are berries. When ripe, they contain large fleshy seeds which are often more than 1 cm in diameter

At a minimum temperature of 10 °C, in temperate regions it is normally cultivated as a houseplant. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Charlotte Percy (née Clive), Duchess of Northumberland (1787–1866), governess of Queen Victoria, was the first to cultivate the plant in the United Kingdom and bring it to flower. The whole genus was subsequently named after the Duchess.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

CLIVIA

Clivia miniata (Natal lily, bush lily) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clivia of the family Amaryllidaceae, native to damp woodland habitats in South Africa (Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces) as well as in Swaziland. It is also reportedly naturalised in Mexico.

It grows to a height of about 45 cm, and flowers are red, orange or yellow, with a faint, but very sweet perfume. It is sometimes known in cultivation as "Kaffir lily". However, this name is also confusingly applied to the genus Schizostylis, and in any case is best avoided as it is considered an offensive ethnic slur in South Africa.

With a minimum temperature of 10 °C, in temperate regions C. miniata is normally cultivated as a houseplant. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, along with the variety C. miniata var. citrina. It contains small amounts of lycorine, making it poisonous.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CHIVES IN FLOWER

Chives is the common name of Allium schoenoprasum, the smallest species of the edible onion genus. A perennial plant, it is native to Europe, Asia and North America. A. schoenoprasum is the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old Worlds. The name of the species derives from the Greek skhoínos (sedge) and práson (leek). Its English name, chives, derives from the French word cive, from cepa, the Latin word for onion.

Chives are a commonly used herb and can be found in grocery stores or grown in home gardens. In culinary use, the scapes and the unopened, immature flower buds are diced and used as an ingredient for fish, potatoes, soups, and other dishes. Chives have insect-repelling properties that can be used in gardens to control pests.

Chives are a bulb-forming herbaceous perennial plant, growing to 30–50 cm tall. The bulbs are slender, conical, 2–3 cm long and 1 cm broad, and grow in dense clusters from the roots. The scapes (or stems) are hollow and tubular, up to 50 cm long and 2–3 mm across, with a soft texture, although, prior to the emergence of a flower, they may appear stiffer than usual. The leaves, which are shorter than the scapes, are also hollow and tubular, or terete, (round in cross-section) which distinguishes it at a glance from Garlic Chives.

The flowers are pale purple, and star-shaped with six petals, 1–2 cm wide, and produced in a dense inflorescence of 10-30 together; before opening, the inflorescence is surrounded by a papery bract. The seeds are produced in a small three-valved capsule, maturing in summer. The herb flowers from April to May in the southern parts of its habitat zones and in June in the northern parts (November to February in the Southern Hemisphere).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

NAKED LADIES LILIES

Amaryllis is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, Amaryllis belladonna, is a native of the Western Cape region of South Africa, particularly the rocky southwest area between the Olifants River Valley to Knysna. For many years there was confusion amongst botanists over the generic names Amaryllis and Hippeastrum, one result of which is that the common name "amaryllis" is mainly used for cultivars of the genus Hippeastrum, widely sold in the winter months for their ability to 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.

Each bulb produces one or two leafless stems 30–60 cm tall, each of which bears a cluster of 2 to 12 funnel-shaped flowers at their tops. Each flower is 6–10 cm diameter with six tepals (three outer sepals, three inner petals, with similar appearance to each other). The usual colour is white with crimson veins, but pink or purple also occur naturally.

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 naturalised from plantings in urban and suburban areas throughout the lower elevations and coastal areas in much of the West Coast of the USA since these environments mimic their native South African habitat. Hardiness zones 6-8. It is also naturalised in Australia.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

YELLOW CLIVIA

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme.

JACOBEAN LILY

Sprekelia is a genus of at least three bulbous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. They are native to Central America. Like Hippeastrum, these plants were known as Amaryllis. Sprekelia plants are also sometimes called "Aztec lilies", although they are not true lilies. This genus is named after Johann Heinrich von Spreckelsen (1691–1764), who supplied the plants to Lorenz Heister.

S. formosissima shown below growing in our garden, is common in cultivation, planted in warm climates or raised in pots in colder climates, or planted and lifted, much as the gladiolus. Even when well grown, bulbs often do not bloom every year. In a grouping of about a dozen bulbs, only two or three may bloom in any given year. We are very lucky with ours as they bloom consistently and abundantly!

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

CLIVIA MINIATA

Clivia miniata (Natal lily, bush lily) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clivia of the family Amaryllidaceae, native to damp woodland habitats in South Africa (Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces) as well as in Swaziland. It is also reportedly naturalized in Mexico.

It grows to a height of about 45 cm, and flowers are red, orange or yellow, with a faint, but very sweet perfume. It is sometimes known in cultivation as "Kaffir lily". However, this name is also confusingly applied to the genus Schizostylis, and in any case is best avoided as it is considered an offensive ethnic slur in South Africa.
With a minimum temperature of 10 °C, in temperate regions C. miniata is normally cultivated as a houseplant. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, along with the variety C. miniata var. citrina (shown here). It contains small amounts of lycorine, making it poisonous.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.