ID for this Amaryllis/Hippeastrum?

[Pippa]

Hi all,

I bought this as 'Christmas Star', but when it flowered, it's obviously not! I've been given a tentative suggestion of 'Pajama Party', but I'm not sure. All the pictures I can find of that cultivar show the white pretty evenly matched over all the petals, whereas on mine, the top petal just has a white/green tip, and the white streaks get bigger as the petals go toward the bottom of the flower.

Any other suggestions?

[Andrew-L]

i know amaryllis are native to south africa. im thinking that one species grows on quartzite cliffs, while the other grows further inland.

They were extensively bred and hybridized in the 1800s to create full white flowers, along with different hues/streaks of pink/purple.
They often grow clumped together in patches because their seeds are big and heavy.

I actually dug some wild ones earlier today off the roadside in south Texas. There was a huge patch of them. Even after the hard freeze/snow we got a couple weeks ago, they flourished.


soooo, long story short. it may be hard to find out exactly which hybrid you have

[estación seca]

The genus Amaryllis is native to South Africa. The genus Hippeastrum, in family Amaryllidaceae, is native to South America. Gardeners and bulb vendors refer to Hippeastrum species and hybrids as "amaryllis." Genera Amaryllis and Hippeastrum have different chromosome numbers and will not cross.

There are numerous other genera in Amaryllidaceae in Africa, Asia and the Americas. These include rain lilies from North and South America, Habranthus and Zephyranthes; Japanese and Chinese spider lilies, Lycoris; American Hymenocallis and Ismene; and pantropical Crinum.

It is even less possible to ID a NOID Hippeastrum hybrid than a NOID orchid because bulb sellers may sell multiple different crosses with nearly the same coloration under one trade name. For example, for some years now red Hippeastrum sold in the US are almost all called Red Lion. White ones with red petal edges are almost all called Minerva.

So there is no way to tell what your cross is.