by Morgan Davis

I was thrilled to encounter a beautiful new display of Amaryllis last Monday, as I entered the Potted Plants Gallery to prepare for a special event. I was first introduced to the plant as a young girl, when my grandfather gave me a bulb every year for Christmas; its appearance in the galleries sparked my holiday glee! Curious as to whether the gifting of Amaryllis for the holidays is a tradition extending beyond the Miller-Davis family, I began to do some research on the plant. I sought out our Nursery Specialist, Lupe Cota, to learn more about the Amaryllis she's featured in the Potted Plants Galley this month. The plant turns out to have a fascinating history: it is not an Amaryllis at all, but a Hippeastrum, mistakenly known as Amaryllis to the world. The actual Amaryllis is a monotypic African genus; both are in the Amaryllidacae family. The etymology of the word Hippeastrum is Greek, meaning "horse-man's star". Wikipedia suggests that the Honorable Reverend William Herbert named the plant for its visual similarity to a medieval weapon called a "Morning Star".

The plants displayed in the Conservatory are from the Nurserymen's Exchange in Half Moon Bay. "I always have them here, every year, like the Poinsettias. Those are our winter color," says Lupe. Not always having had the best of luck with my own Amaryllis, I asked Lupe for basic growing tips. Lupe suggests keeping the plants in a cooler room once they've bloomed, to increase their lifespan. How does she battle the balmy temperature in the tropical galleries? "I stretch out the color by bringing in a few plants at a time, keeping the others in a cooler storage."

As it turns out, the gifting of this colorful flower is a tradition for many families. In fact, the site emaryllis.com explains that the frequently-gifted, erroneously-identified plant has so many varieties that during the busy holiday season the varieties within the genus are often mislabeled by large mail order companies. As the fated star-crossed lovers professed, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Our dear amaryllis, by any other name, appears as beautiful. If you have questions about growing your own, or about identifying the many varieties of species and colors you may receive this season, visit emaryllis.com for extensive insight into the masquerading Hippeastrum/Amaryllis, and be sure visit the beautiful display in the Potted Plants Gallery this winter.