Don't mistake Amaryllis for Agapanthus

Introduction to Agapanthus

Agapanthus africanus, also known as purple Clivia, blue Clivia, and African lily, is native to South Africa. It is a plant of the Liliaceae family. Plant taxonomists also classify it as Amaryllidaceae, and also list it separately as Agapanthaceae. Some people believe that this genus consists of only one species, Agapanthus, with about 10 varieties. Some also believe that there are 9 species. The underground part of Agapanthus has shortened rhizomes and fleshy roots, and the scape is a terminal umbel with 10-30 flowers. The multi-flowered variant (var. giganteus) can have 120-200 flowers in its inflorescence. The flowers are bright blue, and there are cultivated varieties in white, dark blue, pink and purple.

Introduction to Amaryllis

The genus name of Hippeastrum, Hippeastrum, is a combination of the Greek words for knight (hippeos) and star (astron). This means that the leaves of the plant are arranged in two rows, like a saddle, and the flower stalks look like a knight riding a saddled horse. The Chinese nickname Huazhoulan probably also comes from this. "Zhou" is the helmet worn by ancient warriors when fighting. The earliest record of the cultivation of Amaryllis in my country was found in the first Chinese book "Flower Horticulture" compiled by Mr. Zhang Junyu in 1933, in which Amaryllis was mentioned for the first time.

After Amaryllis was discovered in Central and South America in the 18th century, it was gradually introduced to Europe. There are now 75 known species of Amaryllis, most of which are found in the forests of the Andes Mountains in South America. In 1725, short-barreled amaryllis (also known as Queen's amaryllis H. reginae), first discovered in Mexico and the West Indies, was introduced to Europe. It is a model species for cultivated amaryllis and now has many horticultural hybrids. Later, H. vittatum, native to Peru, in 1769, H. reticutatum, native to Brazil, in 1777, H. rutium, native to Brazil, in 1821, and H. pratense, native to Chile, in 1840, successively entered Europe. Japan introduced short-barreled amaryllis during the Honghua period (1844-1847). The earliest record of the introduction of short-barreled amaryllis in Taiwan, my country was in 1911.

The flower stem of Amaryllis is hollow, and the umbel inflorescence has 2-6 flowers, usually 4. The stigma of the style is divided into 3 lobes, and the flowers are magenta.

Why are agapanthus and amaryllis confused?

Amaryllis is also known as Agapanthus, so the entry may be confusing. But remember, Agapanthus belongs to the genus Agapanthus, and Amaryllis belongs to the genus Amaryllis, and they are very easy to distinguish from each other by the color of their flowers. The flowers of Agapanthus come in white, pink, purple, etc., while Amaryllis, as the name suggests, is red.

After the above introduction, I hope that next time when you search for Agapanthus, if Amaryllis appears again, please ignore it... Flower lovers should also pay attention when buying flowers. Some merchants mark Amaryllis as Agapanthus. If you want to buy Agapanthus, be sure to ask the merchant for accurate information.