Amaryllis Belladonna
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''Amaryllis belladonna'', the Jersey lily, belladonna-lily, naked-lady-lily, or March lily, is a plant species native to
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in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
but widely cultivated as an ornamental. It is reportedly naturalized in many places:
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Description

Perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
bulbous In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
geophyte with one to two erect solid stems which appear in late summer. The
inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
bears 2–12 showy fragrant funnel-shaped flowers on a 'naked' (leafless) stem, which gives it the common name of naked-lady-lily. The pink flowers which may be up to 10cm in length, appear in the autumn before the leaves ( hysteranthy) which are narrow and strap shaped.


Taxonomy and etymology

''Amaryllis belladonna'' is one of the two species in the genus ''
Amaryllis ''Amaryllis'' () is the only genus in the subtribe Amaryllidinae (tribe Amaryllideae). It 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 ...
'' as currently circumscribed. The
specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
''belladonna'' is derived from the Italian ''bella donna'', which means beautiful lady.


Habitat

''Amaryllis belladonna'' is found in South Africa, where the plants are found growing among rocks.


Ecology

Leaves of ''A. belladonna'' begin growing in early spring, or during late autumn. They last for a few weeks to a few months until they wither away, and a flower stalk will begin growing. When found in the wild, ''Amaryllis belladonna'' is pollinated by hawk moths and carpenter bees. The flower has a long-tubed, pale
perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...
, which fully expands at night. This flower will then release a sweet fragrance, that contains acyclic terpenoid
alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
,
linalool Linalool () refers to two enantiomers of a naturally occurring terpene alcohol found in many flowers and spice plants. Together with geraniol, nerol, and citronellol, linalool is one of the rose alcohols. Linalool has multiple commercial app ...
and abundant
nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...
, that attracts pollinators to it. ''A. belladonna'' seeds are soft and fleshy, and appear white or pinkish. They are dispersed through
wind dispersal Biological dispersal refers to both the movement of individuals (animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, etc.) from their birth site to their breeding site ('natal dispersal') and the movement from one breeding site to another ('breeding dispersal' ...
during the winter time. This is to coincide with the first winter rain during March, and April. Seeds will germinate in as early as two weeks, but will not develop into a fully flowering plant until three to six years later. All parts of the ''A. belladonna'' plant are toxic and contain several different alkaloids, such as lycorine, pancracine and amaryllidine. This can cause vomiting and diarrhea in humans. In wildlife these toxins will affect
grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...
species, and will cause drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal distress, lethargy, and heart or renal failure. Deer will avoid eating this plant, possibly due to an evolutionary relationship.


Cultivation

The bulbs are best planted just below the surface of the soil, with the neck of the bulb level with the surface. In colder climates mulching or lifting and
overwintering Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activ ...
is required. The bulbs may be propagated from offsets. Amaryllis bulbs require little watering and are drought tolerant. This plant has gained the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...
's
Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...
.


Medicinal properties

Several compounds have been found in ''A. belladonna'' bulbs, including, 1,4-dihydroxy-3-methoxy powellan, which is an
alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...
. It has been observed that alkaloids in this plants bulb have properties to fight against
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
caused by '' P. falciparum.''


See also

*
List of plants known as lily Lily usually refers to herbaceous plants of the genus ''Lilium'', with large showy trumpet-shaped flowers. Many species are cultivated as ornamentals. Many other plants not closely related to lilies are called lilies, usually because their flowers ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q159792 Amaryllidoideae Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces Garden plants of Southern Africa Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus