Amaryllis belladonna

A native of South Africa, in the Cape Province from Olifants River to Cape Town, amaryllis is a flowering bulb found growing on rocky hillsides, in scrub and near rivers. When the Mediterranean Climate Garden in the Gardens was planted up in 2014, ten bulbs of Amaryllis belladonna were planted. Over the years one bulb made an attempt to flower, but it has only been during the long, hot summer of 2018, that these bulbs have had the climate they require to flower so beautifully.

The bulb should not be confused with the ubiquitous hippeastrum that we see flowering in homes over the winter period. Amaryllis is autumn-flowering and may be seen flowering freely in sunny positions in Cornwall. Its notable feature is the way its long-stemmed umbels appear in late summer from a leafless bulb; the leaves appear after flowering. This gives it the name 'naked lady'. Other common names are Jersey lily, belladonna (meaning beautiful lady) lily and March lily. It would be wonderful to see these rosy-pink lily-like flowers appear as a regular feature in the Gardens.