''Urceolina amazonica'',
formerly known as ''Eucharis amazonica'', is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Amaryllidaceae
The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus ''Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryllis fa ...
, native to Peru. It is cultivated as an ornamental in many countries and naturalized in Venezuela, Mexico, the West Indies, Ascension Island, Sri Lanka, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and the Society Islands.
The English name Amazon lily is used for this species,
but is also used for some other species of the genus ''
Urceolina
''Urceolina'' is a genus of South American plants in the amaryllis family, all native to Peru. It also occurs in other parts of South America.
Species
*''Urceolina ayacucensis'' Ravenna
*''Urceolina cuzcoensis'' Vargas
*''Urceolina fulva'' He ...
''.
An
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
bulb
In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
ous
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
, ''Eucharis amazonica'' grows to tall by broad, with long narrow dark leaves and umbels of fragrant white flowers. The stamens are fused into a single cup.
In cultivation it is often mislabelled as ''Eucharis grandiflora'', which is a synonym of
''Urceolina'' × ''grandiflora''. This mistake can be traced back to 1857 when
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...
identified a plant tentatively named ''Eucharis amazonica'' by the
Veitch Nurseries
The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into t ...
as ''E. grandiflora''; however, this plant was very different from ''E. grandiflora'', and in the same year
and
Jules Émile Planchon
Jules Émile Planchon (21 March 1823 – 1 April 1888) was a French botanist born in Ganges, Hérault.
Biography
After receiving his Doctorate of Science at the University of Montpellier in 1844, he worked for a while at the Royal Botanic Garde ...
established ''E. amazonica'' as a new species. Although this mistake was re-rectified in 1984 by
Alan Meerow
Alan W. Meerow is an American botanist, born in New York City in 1952. He specializes in the taxonomy of the family Amaryllidaceae and the horticulture of palms and tropical ornamental plants. He also works on the population genetics and molecu ...
and
Bijan Dehgan
Bijan (also Bizhan or Bejan; fa, بیژن) is a Persian given name meaning "Hero". People named Bijan include:
*Bijan (designer), surname Pakzad, a fashion and perfume designer
*Bijan Abdolkarimi, philosopher
*Bijan Beg Saakadze, Safavid noble a ...
, the confusion between the two species has persisted. They differ in leaf length, staminal cup length, and free filament shape: ''U. amazonica'' have longer leaf blades of (20–)30–40(–50) cm (versus 20–33 cm of ''U.'' × ''grandiflora'') and longer staminal cups of 11.2–13.8 mm (versus 5–7 mm of ''U.'' × ''grandiflora''), and its free filaments are subulate (versus linear or narrowly subulate of ''U.'' × ''grandiflora''), 2.8–3.4 mm wide at the base (versus 1–1.5 mm of ''U.'' × ''grandiflora'').
As it is not
hardy
Hardy may refer to:
People
* Hardy (surname)
* Hardy (given name)
* Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica
* Mount Hardy, Enderby Land
* Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island
* Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands
Australia
* Hardy, Sout ...
, it requires a sheltered spot with a protective winter mulch in colder areas. It has gained the
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
's
Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q456429
amazonica
Endemic flora of Peru
Garden plants
Plants described in 1857