Hippeastrum is a genus in the family Amaryllidaceae with 70-75 species and 600+ hybrids and cultivars. The genus is native to tropical regions of the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. The Hippeastrum main page has information about cultivation and lists the species and hybrids that are included in the PBS wiki.
This page contains Hippeastrum species A-O. Other species are found on the Hippeastrum species P-Z page.
Hippeastrum aglaiae is a rainforest species from northern Argentina with orange, cream or pink flowers. Photograph by Germán Roitman
Hippeastrum angustifolium is a bog species from northern Argentina with big and spectacular flowers. Photograph by Germán Roitman.
Hippeastrum argentinum (syn. Hippeastrum tucumanum) is native to Tucuman, Catamarca, and Salta, northwestern Argentina. It is one of the white trumpet species that are commonly known as "azucenas" or "lilies". It has long strap-shaped, and mostly pure white tepals. There is a form with pinkish reflexes and is described by Piero Ravenna as H. argentinum forma rosea. In habitat, plants receive rain from December-March (part of spring and summer). Dormancy takes place during part of autumn, winter, and part of spring. Photos by Doug Westfall.
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 bloomed. 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 Hippeastrum aulicum from Corupá, Southern Brazil. Photos taken May 2006 by Tarcísio Eduardo Raduenz.
This photo compares the forma known as robustum or platypetalum on the left and the form 'Corupà' on the right. Note that Corupà has red marks in the throat, while robustum is totally green. Photo and text by Angelo Porcelli.
Hippeastrum bukasovii is another of the rare and highly sought after Peruvian bulbs. Like Hippeastrum intiflorum it grows high in the mountain canyons about 6000 ft (1400 to 1800 m) in heavy forest mulch and on rather steep slopes. This species blooms in September (spring) in Peru and early March in California. Photo taken by Doug Westfall.
Hippeastrum calyptratum is an unusual member of the genus. Pollinated by bats, this interesting species' green flowers emit an unusual odour said to be similar to that of burnt plastic. The bulbs grow as epiphytes attached to mossy trees, or grow as lithophytes on rock surfaces in bright light at around 1200m elevation (4000') in the Serra dos Órgãos (Organ Mountains) within the highly endangered eco-region of the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest) of Brazil. Occasionally they are also found growing in shade. Flowering occurs in late autumn.
Its cultivation is considered by some to be challenging and this is because as an epiphyte, its needs are much different than that of most geophytes. It helps to think of it as an orchid. The species is best grown under cool or intermediate conditions (max 85°F/30°C, min 45°F/7°C). Bright, filtered sun or part-shade and humidity above 60% is recommended. It is often grown as a potted plant with its basal plate just below the surface of the potting media. The potting media should be very open, coarse, and well-drained (similar to potting media used for many types of epiphytic or lithophytic plants such as orchids), but it can also be grown mounted to wood or cork oak bark mount if provided ambient humidity above 75% r/h. The potting media shouldn't retain too much moisture or decompose too quickly because it will cause the roots and bulbs to rot. Its roots like to dry out quickly between waterings but also don't like to stay dry for long. Like most amaryllids and epiphytes, it resents root disturbance and may sulk for some time after being repotted. For this reason its potting media should be durable. Nhu Nguyen has found that they grow well in pure horticultural pumice. Jacob Knecht has grown this species from seed sown directly into a medium of equal parts 0.5-1 cm chunks of diatomite, black cinder (scoria), and horticultural charcoal.
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 fourth and fifth pictures were taken by Nhu Nguyen of seedlings grown by Jacob Knecht in Honolulu, Hawai'i from seed sown in small terracotta pots. They are 1.5 years old and some have developed their bulbs faster than others. Many of the seedlings have red-emergent leaves that fade to dark green as seen in the 5th picture. The 6th, 7th and 8th pictures show a mounted seedling grown by Jacob Knecht.
Hippeastrum correiense. I got this from a large Japanese bulb company (Komoriya), and was told it was Hippeastrum coliense. 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 is native to Bolivia and Argentina and is often mentioned in the literature, but is found in few collections. In habitat, plants receive rain from December-March (part of spring and summer). Dormancy takes place during part of autumn, winter, and part of spring. The stem on this first bloom is 19 inches tall. Doug Westfall says, "I think that it may be my favorite Hippeastrum". Pictures 1, 2 by Doug Westfall, 3 by Jamie Vande of a cultivar that is commonly available in Germany (may be a named clone) 4, 5 of floral colour patterns by Jacob Knecht.
Hippeastrum "euryphyllum" (syn. Amaryllis euryphylla Ravenna 2003) cannot be found as a validly published name in major plant taxonomic databases. However, it is pretty clear that the plant is a Hippeastrum so we are including it here. The species falls within the subgenus Macropodastrum (white flowers with long tubes). In Argentina three other species of this subgenus are recorded: H. argentinum (syn. H. tucumanum, H. candidum, H. immaculatum), H. parodii and H. guarapuavicum. Hippeastrum euryphyllum can be distinguished from the others by the light yellow-creamy trumpet shaped flowers, the very short style arms, as well as the area where it grows among rocks in rocky slopes in the three hills that gave the name to the Tres Cerros hamlet, Department of San Martin, Province of Corrientes. The species also has the broad, comparatively short leaves. Photos 1-3 were taken in northern Argentina by Germán Roitman. Photos 4-6 were contributed by Mariano Saviello of plants from a different site in situ.
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 glaucescens is said to be a synonym or a very allied species of Hippeastrum teyucuarense. It is a winter deciduous, very variable species with glaucous leaves native to Brazil, where is known as 'Lirio Do Mato' (Lily of the Mato, referring the Matto Grosso). It is native to biomes of Caatinga, Cerrado and Mata Atlântica in the states of Bahia (North-East Brazil), Goiás, Distrito Federal, Mato Grosso do Sul (Center-West Brazil), Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro (South-East Brazil) and Paraná and Santa Catarina (Southern Brazil). A recent study by Daviña et al. stated that important similarities exists between this species and H. iguazuanum and H. teyucuarense. It can be grown as a pot plant under full sun. In cultivation (Argentina/Brazil) it flowers in early spring (September-October) and the tepals, unlike H. teyucuarense, tends to fold inwards quite easily, just two or three days after opening. The photos below were contributed by Mariano Saviello. Photo 1-3 detail the flowers. In photo 2, it is possible to appreciate the glaucous leaves which gives the name to this species. Photos 4-5 compares two closely related species: H. iguazuanum (Argentina, left) and H. glaucescens (Brazil, right). Both species flower at the beginning of spring (September-October in the Southern Hemisphere).
Hippeastrum guarapuavicum is native to the province of Misiones, Argentina. It has white and purple-stripped flowers.
Hippeastrum iguazuanum is a rare species within Omphalissa subgenus. It is native to the province of Misiones (Argentina) and the Department of Parana (Brazil). In Argentina it is reported in the departments of Guaraní, Iguazú, Oberá, San Ignacio and San Pedro. Bulbs were originally collected in Arroyo Central on way to Cabureí, growing among small rivers (Iguazú National Park, Department of Iguazú) and described in 1971 through this holotype by Piero Ravenna. Specimens found on route 101 beetwen Cataratas and Yaciú (Department of Paraná) and Lagoa Seca (Municipe of Paraíba), Brazil were designated as paratypes.
It is a winter deciduous species which flowers in early spring (September-October in the Southern Hemisphere) and grows in cliff faces with dense vegetation. It has interesting yellowish-green flowers with red veined and banded undulating tepals. This species can be easily grown as a pot plant or even in the ground in zones with Mediterranean climates (Zone 10, for example). It has beautiful glaucous leaves, which can be distinguished from those of H. teyucuarense, a very closely related species with distinct channeled leaves with the edges folded backwards. Some clones have a particular dark purple color in young leaves, although grown in shady conditions. It reproduces quite easily through lateral bulbs.
Williams and Dudley 1984 made chromosome counts using the acctocarmine technique for this species and reported that somatic chromosome number of 2n= 24 (or, expressed in other form, 2n=22 +BB), whereas the normal diploid number for most Hippeastrum species is usually 2n= 22. The "B" is a small chromosome fragment, and was suggested that the 12th chromosome pair in H. iguazuanum (also H. morelianum (2n=24; 22 + BB) and H. forgetii (2n=22+B) may have originated with this "B" fragment. In the segregation of B chromosomes in various crosses, the B chromosomes more commonly pass through the ova, rather than the pollen (H. pardinum crossed to a white H. hybridum, in "Segregation of the B chromosome" by Ising, G. (University of Lund, Sweden); Wide-Andersson, K. Herbertia 47:11-32).
The presence of a "B" chromosome was correlated with chromosome number and morphology, as well as with external morphological characteristics. Presence of a "B" was correlated with increased flowering frequency too, which could be evidenced in H. iguazuanum in the copious emission of flowers stalks simultaneously (photo 3 below) although interfering with fertility. Mariano Saviello finds that it is quite difficult to set seeds, even growing different clones of this species. According to this, B chromosomes are neither entirely beneficial nor harmful. They may interfere with fertility, but compensate by making the plants flower more often. There was also a correlation between "B" chromosome presence and spots; flowers tend to have more spots if "B" was present (H. pardinum, for example). Other species with a "B" chromosome includes H. blossfeldiae, H. calyptratum, H. striatum, H. forgetii and H. psittacinum. Furthermore, crosses of either H. iguazuanum or H. morelianum with a diploid (2N=22) species would yield aneuploid offsprings, which was confirmed by a colleague when crossing H. iguazuanum with H. leopoldii.
Photo 1 was taken by Germán Roitman. Photos 2-6 were taken by Mariano Saviello. Photo 2 shows details of the whole plant and the flowers with three flowers stalks growing simultaneously. Photos 3-4 show details of the beautiful yellowish-green flowers with red veined and banded undulating tepals. Photos 5-6 show details of a different clone, with smaller and less marked veined flowers. This clone is very similar to H. glaucescens and present no purple coloration in young leaves.
Photos 1-2 were taken by Mariano Saviello show the characteristic purple young leaves of some clones and the strange darker spots. Mariano does not really know why some purple leaf clones have this characteristic darker spots and some others do not, or even if this could be some kind of virus.
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 mandonii was collected by Fred Meyer in Bolivia in the 1970s. Flowers are lime green with red tips. Photos taken by Mary Sue Ittner at Telos Rare bulbs.
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 neoleopoldii, syn. Amaryllis neoleopoldii is a species that has not been published since it was inadvertently left out when other Amaryllis species were transferred to Hippeastrum as it was not clear that it was a separate species from Hippeastrum leopoldii which is similar. H. neoleopoldii has a more saturated red color and white flecks. It is now felt that it deserves species recognition and we are adding it under this name as it is grown under this name and we expect it to be named in the future. It is from Bolivia. Photo from Doug Westfall.
Hippeastrum species P-Z - Hippeastrum hybrids A-B - Hippeastrum hybrids C-H - Hippeastrum hybrids I-N - Hippeastrum hybrids O-Unnamed - Hippeastrum index - x Hippeastrelia