1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Amaryllis

AMARYLLIS (the name of a girl in classical pastoral poetry), in botany, a genus of the natural order Amaryllidaceae, containing the belladonna lily (Amaryllis Belladonna), a native of South Africa, which was introduced into cultivation at the beginning of the 18th century. This is a half-hardy bulbous plant, producing in the spring a number of strap-shaped, dull green leaves, 1–11/2 ft. long, arranged in two rows, and in autumn a solid stem, bearing at the top a cluster of 6–12 funnel-shaped flowers, of a rose colour and very fragrant. Several forms are known in cultivation. Most of the so-called Amaryllis of gardens belong to the allied genus Hippeastrum (q.v.).