''Worsleya'' is a genus of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian plants in the

Amaryllis family 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 fami ...

, cultivated as an ornamental because of its showy flowers. There is only one known species, ''Worsleya procera'', native to eastern

. It is endemic to a mesa called "Mount Cuca" 30 miles (52 km) north of Rio de Janeiro. Here the sickle-shaped leaves curve northward. When grown in the northern hemisphere, the leaves curve southward. It is one of the largest (around 1.5 meters high) and rarest members of the subfamily

Amaryllidoideae Amaryllidoideae (Amaryllidaceae ''s.s.'', amaryllids) is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. The most recent APG classification, APG III, takes a broad view of the Amaryllidaceae, which then ...

(family

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 ...

This species is also known as the Empress of Brazil because of its origin in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and in reference to the wife of Emperor

Dom Pedro Dom Pedro (''Lord Peter'') is the traditional Portuguese appellation of several kings of Portugal: * Peter I of Portugal * Peter II of Portugal * Peter III of Portugal * Pedro IV of Portugal * Pedro V of Portugal and of the two 19th-century Emperors ...

. It grows in very extreme and moist environments, and is commonly found near waterfalls in rich soil situated on

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

rocks (which is why it is sometimes considered to be a

lithophyte Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are also ...

) and sunny places. However, it can be difficult to cultivate. It has plenty of needs, though it can exhibit great hardiness. It also has many ornamental traits.

Description

The plant has a large

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 ...

that produces a high stem with green recurved leaves. ''Worsleya'' produces spectacular and beautiful blooms. They are large, lilac to blue, with small freckles on them. The seeds are black and semicircular, and (when cultivated) are usually sown in

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular vol ...

or sometimes '' Sphagnum,'' although with '' Sphagnum'' the threat of decay is higher.Traub, Hamilton Paul & Moldenke, Harold Norman. 1949. Amaryllis Manual 23. as ''Worsleya rayneri''

References

Amaryllidoideae Amaryllidaceae genera Monotypic Asparagales genera Endemic flora of Brazil Critically endangered plants {{Amaryllidaceae-stub