Naming conventions are overrated

The plant we commonly call amaryllis is an excellent example of the problems created by the use of common versus botanical names.

In the Sunset Western Garden Book, looking up “amaryllis” takes you to a plant with the botanical name of Amaryllis belladonna and common names of belladonna or naked lady lily. The plant is described as having a flower cluster with multiple blooms that come only as a rosy pink. Not close to your average grocery store amaryllis.

At the very end of the entry is a note that says “see Hippeastrum” (hip-east-rum). When you turn to the appropriate page, it is immediately obvious this is the plant most people think of when they say amaryllis. The common name fits the picture of the upright plant with single flowers and definite straplike leaves.

Are we confused yet? Hang on. So were the botanists in the early 1700s.

Our familiar amaryllis is native to the tropical areas of South America. It was one of the thousands of new plants brought back to Europe by early 1700s the plant explorers.

This flood of new plants ignited great interest in the study of botany and created a vast new body of knowledge.

In turn, it also created a mishmash of common names that often changed with the local language. No one could be sure that the plant they knew by one name, in one country, was the same plant known by the same name elsewhere in Europe.

The way out of this confusion was developed by a young Swedish medical student named Carl Linnaeus, who later published under the Latinized version of his name: Carolus Linnaeus. Medical training of the day required the study of plants as they were the main source of the period’s medications. As he worked, Linnaeus realized that there were similarities between parts of the flowers of seemingly completely different plants. Using these similarities, he created the taxonomy system to classify plants into related groups. Remember studying genus and species in biology? Linnaeus classification system is still in use today.

Linnaeus named plants in this system using Latin and ancient Greek, the universal languages of his time. This removed the confusion of local vernacular as they discussed their new finds.

Latin is also a very descriptive language that easily lends itself to describing the physical characteristics of a plant. This is where we come back to how amaryllis became Hippeastrum.

The story goes that when Linnaeus first classified the amaryllis, he called it Amaryllis equestris, ‘equestris’ coming from the Latin root word for horse, ‘equus.’ Evidently, at a certain point in the opening of the flower, the shape of the different parts took on the appearance of a horse’s head and it was that clue Linnaeus used for naming.

Linnaeus’s system is also ingeniously flexible, so as research yielded more botanical information plant names were often refined and changed. As a result, over time our amaryllis went from Amaryllis equestris to Hippeastrum – named so after the Greek root word for horse, ‘hippo.’

While you meditate on these weighty facts, keep your hands busy planting your botanical treasure.

If your amaryllis comes as a loose bulb, plant it in a heavy pot no more than an inch bigger than the bulb.

A heavy pot will provide a counterweight to the top-heavy leaves and flowers that will grow later. Plant the bulb in a rich potting mix so that the top half is above the soil line. Water it in well, but then water sparingly until growth starts after about six weeks.

Place the plant in a bright sunny spot with steady temperatures between 60 to 70 degrees. The flower stalk will appear first followed by long thick strap-like leaves. When they start emerging, begin turning the pot about twice a week to prevent the plant from leaning towards the light source. This also helps keeping it from tipping over. If the plant does get top-heavy, transfer it pot and all into another pot filled with a fast draining material like gravel. A stake can be gently inserted to help support the flower. Keep it moist but not soggy.

It is possible to keep your plant going to re-bloom next year.

Once the first blooms fade, trim them off leaving the stem. Sometimes a second stem will grow. Once all flowering has finished, feed the plant with a half-strength indoor plant fertilizer once a week and provide it with as much light as possible. The plant can be kept in the house or set outside in bright shade once the danger of frost has passed. Watch watering carefully.

Towards September the leaves will begin to yellow and die down as the plant goes dormant, this is a natural part of its cycle. Continue watering during this period. Bring in outside plants before the frost.

When all the top growth has shriveled, stop watering and allow the bulb to rest for about four months. Just after the New Year, gently turn the bulb out of its pot and look for swollen white roots, a sign that it is fully rested. Begin watering again and wait for the new show.