Amaryllis belladonna (Amaryllidaceae
family) From the SW Cape, South Africa. Amaryllis is a genus
of a single species. It was named after the beautiful shepherdess
Amaryllis, in Virgil's Bucolics. Belladonna is Italian
for beautiful lady who apparently used the juice from it to dilate
the pupils and give brilliancy to the eyes. Flowers are on 3 foot
stems and carry 6 to 10 individual pale pink flowers. They prefer
a well-drained sandy soil, but are gross feeders. Not fully hardy
but can be grown against a south wall.
Plant Portraits through the year
The
plants are arranged in alphabetical order with the date of the photograph
after it.
