What is the common name for the lily Amaryllis Belladonna?

Amaryllis belladonna has its common names, in the UK, as 'Belladonna Lilies' or 'Jersey Lily', in
South Africa as 'The March Lily', in the United States as 'Naked Lady', in Portugal as 'Bordao de Sao
Jose (St. Joseph's Staff), as St. Rosalina in Sicily, or St. Rosa or The Madonna Lily in Italy; and
sometimes in Spain as 'Meninas Para Escola', translating to 'Girls going to School' and because they
bloom in late September at the beginning of the school year, when girls in pink uniforms start
attending classes.
Other known names include: Red Lily and names in relation to its flower blooming season include
March Lily and August Lily.
Belladonna Lily which is a monotypic native plant of South Africa produces long, slender leaves in
the spring, which die back in early summer. It is a bulbous plant with dull green leaves that are up
to 1 feet (45 cm) tall by 0.75 inch (2 cm) wide. Fragrant rosy-pink flowers appear in late summer, on
24 inch (60cm) stalks. The 4 to 6 inch (10-15cm), trumpet-shaped flowers can also be white, red,
rosy red, or pink and are excellent as cut flowers, lasting about a week. Blooming time in the
greenhouse is early August; in zone 7, long after the foliage has long disappeared. Plants form lovely
trumpet shaped flowers on 1 foot (45 cm) tall flower stalks. The pinkish-white to rose-red flowers are
up to 4 inches (10 cm) long and are mildly fragrant.

In late summer the bulb produces one or two

naked stems 30-60 cm tall, each of which
bear a cluster of 2 to 12 funnel-shaped
flowers at their tops. Each flower is 6-10 cm
diameter with six tepals (three outer sepals,
three inner petals, with similar appearance to
each other), white, pink or purple in colour.
This flowering pattern is the cause of its
common name "naked lady".
The scientific name Amaryllis is taken from a
shepherdess in Virgil's pastoral "Eclogues,"
from the Greek (Latin amarysso) meaning "to sparkle." It is used as a given name for females.
The story of Amaryllis Belladonna L., from a European perspective, undoubtedly goes back to the
15th century when Columbus and his crew explored the realm of the scarlet Belladonna. By the 17th
century the Red Lily was apparently so well known to New World visitors that it was sometimes
mentioned only in passing. Du Tertre (1667) compared it to a pale orange tulip, and drew attention
to the whitish center. Rochefort (1658, 1665) also called it orange, but compared it to the Daylily of
the same color. Laet and Ligon only mentioned that there were white and red lilies in Brazil and
Barbados. The Red Lilies were brought to Europe and thought to be reminiscent of the sword/cross
emblem of the St. Jacob Knights.
Belladonna Lilies are poisonous precautiob should be taken to ensure children do not eat them.