Hippeastrum is a genus in the Amaryllidaceae family native to South America that gardeners often call by its common name, Amaryllis. This is especially true of the hybrids which are usually sold under that name.
Hippeastrum Hybrids is our wiki page with pictures of hybrids.
x Hippeastrelia is our wiki page that shows pictures of hybrids between Hippeastrum and Sprekelia.
Hippeastrum angustifolium is a bog species from northern Argentina with big and spectacular flowers. Photograph by Germán Roitman
Hippeastrum aglaiae is a rainforest species from northern Argentina with orange, creme or pink flowers. Photograph by Germán Roitman
Hippeastrum aulicum is epiphytic and grows on rocks and large trees in its native environment. It is a very rewarding species to cultivate and blooms reliably every Christmas in my climate. The first photo was taken by Angelo Porcelli. The next photos were taken January 2004 by Lee Poulsen the first time they bloome. He wrote: "It's kind of nice getting such a pretty Hippeastrum bloom naturally outdoors in the middle of winter." The last photo was taken by Doug Westfall.
Here are photos of wild H. aulicum from Corupá, Southern Brazil. Photos taken May 2006 by Tarcísio Eduardo Raduenz.
Hippeastrum calyptratum This is an interesting epiphytic species that is pollinated by bats in its native habitats in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Bulbs "sit" on mossy trees, leafless during its summer dormancy growing in filtered light to shade. It emits a rather alarming smell of burnt plastic! It flowers in late autumn. Grow it in a very open, well-drained bu humus-rich fertile medium in semi shade with the bulb on the surface. Hanging basket cultivation would suit it well. The first photo shows a plant grown from seed by Rogan Roth and photographed by Digby Boswell. The next two pictures are of plants grown and photographed by Johannes-Ulrich Urban. The plant in the background is Sinningia magnifica. The fouth and fith pictures were taken by Nhu Nguyen of seedlings grown by Jacob Knecht in Honolulu, Hawai`i from seed sown in small terra cotta pots. They are 1.5 years old and some have developed their bulbs faster than others. The seeds were sown directly into a medium of equal parts 0.5 - 1 cm chunks of diatomite, black cinder(scoria), and horticultural charcoal. Many of the seedlings have red-emergent leaves that fade to dark green as seen in the 5th picture.
Hippeastrum correiensis. I got this from a large Japanese bulb company (Komoriya), and was told it was Hippeastrum coliense. However, they actually identified it in their catalog as ??????????? (Don't know if that will come through; transliterated, it is 'Amaririsu koriense'), and since they don't have 'L' in their language, they substitute it with an 'R' and then have trouble knowing if the word they use originally used an 'L' or an 'R' when spelled in the Latin alphabet. I can't find a picture of it on the web anywhere, and when it bloomed, at first I didn't think it looked like the picture in the catalog. But then I realized that the front-on view looked the same and I just didn't know it had such a long trumpet and that this is as wide as it opens. The scape is about 2/3 of a meter tall. Photo taken March 2004 by Lee Poulsen.
Hippeastrum cybister This Hippeastrum is often mentioned in the literature, but is found in few collections. The following two pictures were taken by Doug Westfall. The stem on this first bloom is 19 inches tall. I think that it may be my favorite Hippeastrum. The last picture was taken by Jamie Vande of a cultivar that is commonly available in Germany and may be a named clone.
Hippeastrum euryphylla falls within the subgenus Macropodastrum (white flowers with long tubes). Two other species in this subgenus are found in Argentina, H. argentinum and H. parodii. H. euryphylla can be distinguished from them by the light yellow-creme flowers, and the very short style arms. Photos taken in northern Argentina by Germán Roitman. The last picture shows the rocky slopes where it is found.
Hippeastrum evansiae is a species that is now rare because its previous habitats are now being used for agriculture. It grows in hot dry forests and prefers a dry warm winter. While not uncommon in collections, H. evansiae is not seen too often. It is one of the smaller of the species, but it is well worth a place in any bulb collection. The first 2 pictures were taken by Doug Westfall in Southern California and the third by Bob Rutemoeller shows plants blooming in Harry Hay's gardens in May 2004.
Hippeastrum iguazuanum - is a rainforest species from northern Argentina. Photograph by Germán Roitman
Hippeastrum intiflorum Pictures of this seldom seen Hippeastrum were taken by Doug Westfall in Long Beach California. It was grown from seed by Dennis Tsang in Hong Kong and sent to me a couple of yrs. ago. Very little has been written in the literature about Hippeastrum intiflorum. These are the observations made in my Southern California garden. The Inca people believed that "Inti" (Quechua for the sun) was the ancestor of the Inca people. So, the name, "intiflorum" means the "Flower of the Sun," or “Flower of a god.” Certainly, the flower is one of the most beautiful of the Hippeastrum. The species is native to Quispecanchis Province in the Department of Cusco, Peru. It grows in deep river gorges above 2,500 meters. While the bulb probably has a significant amount of shade in the wild, it seems to benefit from a sunny location in cultivation. It should be planted in well draining soil in a two to five gallon container. My soil mix consists of 4 parts sand, 2 parts forest mulch, 2 parts peat, and 1 part perilite or pumice. The growth tip of the bulb is planted at or just below the surface of the planting mix. Hippeastrum intiflorum seems to thrive and bloom with regular feedings of quarter strength liquid fertilizer. (Thanks to Dennis Tsang, Albert Castillo, and the encyclopedia for information on location and meaning of the name.)
Hippeastrum miniatum is native to river gorges high in the Peruvian Andes. It seems to prefer part shade and is reported to produce up to six flowers on one stem on mature bulbs in ideal conditions. Photo taken by Doug Westfall.
Hippeastrum papilio - Photos by Jennifer Hildebrand, February 2003, Doug Westfall March 2003, and Arnold Trachtenberg
More photos by Liz Waterman. This is a bulb from BX 3, Aug. 2002 from Cathy Craig. It started to open New Year's eve, and on New Year's day it was fully open and a 2nd bloom was beginning to show. In the third picture lower left background is a clump of Bomarea flowers.
Hippeastrum petiolatum - Photos by Doug Westfall. The first image (May 10, 2004) is very nearly the actual size of the flowers. This form is
quite orange in color.
Hippeastrum puniceum. The first photo taken March 2004 by Lee Poulsen is of some bulbs he gathered down near sea level in Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Lee was struck by the color of the flowers, unlike other species he was familiar with. The second photo taken March 2004 by Cynthia Mueller, also identified by an earlier name, H. equestere, was found in Sealy, Central Texas. She described it as "Very orange - two blooms per scape, small plant. Self fertile." The third photo by Hans Joschko is of a species collected from the Chaco in Bolivia from a friend of his that experts think looks like this species.
Hippeastrum reginae Photos taken August 2005 in southern Brazil by Tarcísio Eduardo Raduenz.
Hippeastrum reticulatum striatifolium The first photo courtesy of Alan Meerow illustrates this species. The second from Arnold Trachtenberg is probably a hybrid. According to Alan: ""The leaves of H. reticulatum are always quite short and tend to lie almost prostrate (whether striped or not). Arnold's flower looks a lot like hybrids of this species often do. This species is fairly diminutive in stature, and is not easy to grow and flower. The white stripe of striatifolium is always diluted to yellowish-white in F1 hybrids with other species." The third photo from Jay Yourch taken August 2007 is of a plant received as this species
Hippeastrum santacatarina is a southern Brazil species with medium size flowers found growing in bogs. Photograph by Germán Roitman
Hippeastrum solandriflorum: Deciduous, cool/dry in winter. Requires a deep pot and plant with neck of bulb at soil-level. Photo by Den Wilson.
Hippeastrum sp. This Hippeastrum was collected near Cuzco, Peru by David Victor. It could be H. cuxcoensis or even H. mandoni. Photo by David Victor.
Hippeastrum striatum var. petiolatum (= var. flamigerum) as identified by Kevin Preuss for a plant Lee Poulsen says came labelled to him as Hippeastrum puniceum album. This species produces numerous bulbils that may be washed or broken off in nature. From Lee: "The flowers are much smaller than all my other Hippeastrums, about 2in/5cm across and 3in/7.5cm deep. Leaves look like typical Hippeastrum leaves." Photo taken April 2004 by Lee Poulsen.
Hippeastrum tucumanum, syn. H. argentinum, syn. H. candidum, is native to Tucuman, Catamarca, and Salta, northern Argentina. It is one of the white trumpet species that are commonly known as “azucenas” or “lilies”. Photo by Doug Westfall of a plant blooming for him spring 2007.
Hippeastrum vittatum - Photograph by Kelly Irvin, April 2003.
For images of Hippeastrum that appear to be virused consult the wiki Virus page
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