Botanical name
Amaryllis belladonnaFamily
AmaryllidaceaeCommon Name
Belladonna Lily, March Lily, Maart LelieDescription
Bulbous geophyte up to 90cm. Leaves 5-11, strap-shaped, spreading to suberect, 20-60mm wide, channelled, smooth, absent or dry at flowering. 4-12, trumpet-shaped flowers, usually turned to one side, are white to pink, usually pale lemon in the throat; highly fragrant especially in the evening; visited by noctuid moths. Pearly-pink seeds germinate rapidly after falling in autumn ready for the winter rains.
Italian: bella = handsome, pretty, donna = lady: referring to this species handsome flowers.
Amaryllis = adopted by Linnaeus; name of country-girl or sheperdess in Ovid and Virgil.
Habitat
Lower altitudes in loamy soils in seasonally moist sites
Flower Date
February to April, mostly after fire