Legend about Clivia

English Clivia

Clivia is native to South Africa. It was discovered by the British Powell and others in 1823 and brought back to Britain. This is a laughing Clivia planted in the luxurious garden of the Duchess of Clive in Northumberland in northern England.

In 1828, botanist Johann Lindler named it Clivia nobilis Lindl in Latin according to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. "Clivia" is the Latinized name of the Duchess of Clivia, "nobilis" means "noble and elegant", and "Lindl" is the abbreviation of Lindler's Latin name.

Japanese Clivia

In 1854, Clivia was introduced to Japan from Europe and named Clivia by Professor Saburo Okubo of Tokyo University of Science. Because its flowers are small and drooping, it is also called "Smiling Clivia". This kind of Clivia is rarely cultivated nowadays.

Instead, it was replaced by the Clivia miniata, a plant with larger flowers that open upwards. It was introduced to Japan from Europe in the early 20th century.

Because Clivia is a plant of the Amaryllis family and its leaves are shaped like arrows, it is also called "arrow-leaf Lycoris".

Clivia miniata

Clivia was introduced to China through two channels. One was brought to Qingdao by German missionaries. The other was brought from Japan in 1932 to celebrate the so-called "founding ceremony" when Japan supported Aisin-Gioro Puyi to establish the puppet state of Manchukuo in Northeast China. On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally, the puppet regime of "Manchukuo" collapsed, and Clivia began to become popular among the people.

At that time, only two pots of Clivia were preserved. One was brought out from the pseudo-imperial palace by the court florist Zhang Youti and later donated to Changchun Park. To celebrate the great victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, this pot of Clivia was named "Great Victory"; the other pot was preserved by the pseudo-court chef and later collected by Chen Guoxing, the manager of Changchun Dongxing Dyeing Factory, so it was called "Dyeing Factory".