Habranthus is a genus in the Amaryllidaceae family with species from Central and South America extending into southern North America. They have narrow, linear or strap-shaped leaves. Their flowers are very similar to Zephyranthes and both are called rain lilies. Habranthus flowers point upward BUT at an angle and have unequal stamens in 4 different sizes, and Zephyranthes flowers point straight up and have 6 equal stamens, or 3 shorter and 3 taller. Zephyranthes flowers tends to be star shaped and Habranthus have somewhat irregular flowers. Additionally, the seeds of Habranthus are slightly winged (and thicker during the fruit dehiscence). Some Zephyranthes species like Z. candida and Z. minina have few thicker seeds.
Habranthus brachyandrus from Argentina and Brazil. This came labeled as Habranthus (Rhodophiala) andicola, but has been identified by Germán Roitman as Habranthus brachyandrus. The first two photos taken Sept. 2003 by Lee Poulsen. The third by Bill Dijk shows a lot of them in bloom in New Zealand.
Habranthus caeruleus from the north east of Argentina. A small habranthus with pale lilac flowers, extremely uncommon. Photo taken by Germán Roitman.
Habranthus cardenasianus formerly described for Bolivia, was recently found in northwest and central Argentina, Roitman,Castillo et.al, 2006. It is a very attractive habranthus with white flowers that turns pinkish and is very common in dry areas.
Habranthus spectabilis, Habranthus niveus, Habranthus maasii, Habranthus steyermarkii, Habranthus crassiblubus and Habranthus cordobensis have to be considered as synonyms of Habranthus cardenasianus. Photos taken by Germán Roitman.
Habranthus estensis has wire-like leaves (5-9 mm wide) and its native to the east coast of Uruguay. The leaves fall in December, followed by flowering during March. Although it looks similar to H. gracilifolius, the leaves are larger and wider and the flower tube is short green in the base. The inflorescence is 2 flowered and usually geminated (open at the same height but facing in opposite directions) in H. gracilifolius and in H. pedunculosus the inflorescence is not geminated. The third picture shows a spathe with 4 flowers. Photos by Germán Roitman
Photos below from Lee Poulsen taken Sept. 2003. Some had color that was almost like pink cotton candy and suddenly appeared together.
Habranthus × floryi is a hybrid of H. robustus × H. brachyandrus.
'Cherry Pink' is vigorous and produces an abundance of flowers and seeds. Photos taken August 2005 by Jay Yourch.
'Purple Base' has a beautiful and enormous flower, almost 4 inches (10 cm) across. Photo taken September 2003 by Lee Poulsen.
'Green Base' is also beautiful and enormous, but has a green base and throat. Photo taken July 2004 by Jay Yourch.
Habranthus gracilifolius has wire-like leaves (2-3mm wide) and is native to Uruguay and Argentina and has year round rainfall with a dry spell late summer followed by flowering in late summer or early fall. Inflorescences are 1-2 flowered and flowers are completely pink. Photos by Germán Roitman and Mark Wilcox.
Habranthus itaobinus is native to the interior of the Northeast Region of the Brazil, in half-barren climate (dry during 7-8 months of the year), in a type of vegetation called "Caatinga" in the language of the Tupi Nation. Photo taken December 2006 by Tarcísio Eduardo Raduenz.
Habranthus jamesonii is a rare species of Habranthus, with 2-4 flowered inflorescences. Flowers are completely white. Found in sandy soils in the west and center of Argentina. Photo by Germán Roitman
Habranthus martinezii is a very nice species with flowers that are white inside and pink outside. It has a very particular distribution, occurring in the northwest, central and north east of Argentina. Photos by Germán Roitman and Jay Yourch.
Habranthus pedunculosus also has wire-like leaves (3-4 mm wide), is native to Argentina with the leaves falling in December, followed by flowering during February. Inflorescences produce 1 to 3 flowers that are pink, white and dark red. Photos by Germán Roitman.
Habranthus robustus, is native to Argentina and Brazil. It grows in an area that gets year round rainfall with a brief dry period in late summer. It can be brought into bloom more than once by providing a dry period and then soaking the pot. Photos by Bill Dijk, Nestor White, and Doug Westfall. The last photo from Bob Rutemoeller shows the flower of a group of bulbs that were dormant and were soaked in a peroxide solution to treat Stagonospora curtisii and repotted and two days later one was in bloom.
Ted Doremus form has more recurved, darker pink petals with a contrasting white center. It's a selection of H. robustus from Ted Doremus of Warren, Texas. Photos taken July 2007 by Jay Yourch.
Habranthus sanavirone is a newly described and illustrated species from GermánRoitman, Alberto Castillo, Graciela M. Tourn, and Rolando Uria, 2007. It is found in sandy soils of central Argentina and resembles Habranthus robustus in size. It is different as it does not have bulblets, has glaucous leaves and recurved light yellow tepals. Photos by Germán Roitman.
Habranthus sylvaticus is native to the interior of the Northeast Region of the Brazil, in half-barren climate (dry during 7-8 months of the year), in a type of vegetation called "Caatinga" in the language of the Tupi Nation. Photos taken December 2006 by Tarcísio Eduardo Raduenz.
Habranthus tubispathus formerly known as Habranthus andersonii or sometimes Habranthus texanus blooms in the summer after a good rain. The variety texensis is found in Texas and Louisiana and is yellow-orange with streaks of bronze. Since it rarely rains in northern California in summer and our climate is relatively cool in summer, we do not get the blooms that occur in areas with hot summers and dry periods followed by rain showers. With a trace of rain however the next day I discovered one blooming. It must have been the change of barometric pressure that stimulated the bloom. Seeds were sown in a well draining mix which sprouts about 13 days after sowing. The first photo was taken by Bob Rutemoeller. The second and third were taken August 2003 by Lee Poulsen of plants grown from seed purchased from Chilterns as Zephyranthes andersonii. The fourth and fifth were taken by Nhu Nguyen at the UC Botanical Garden showing a fantastic mass blooming.
Habranthus tubispathus var. roseus finally bloomed for me from seed. The photos show what the flower looks like face on and what the outside of the petals look like. Photos taken August 2004 by Lee Poulsen.
Habranthus × hybrid (ex. Yucca Do). This is the name Yucca Do gave when they sold it. I don't think they indicated what they thought it was a hybrid of. It looks somewhat similar to several other pink Habranthuses that are blooming at the moment. Photo taken September 2003 by Lee Poulsen.
