Photo Description It's name is Hymenocallis festalis. Note: Botanists and taxonomists have a peculiar bent in that they seem to thoroughly enjoy assigning names to plants that allude to a female's 'private parts'. That's how the flower 'Clitoria' got it's name. They have a penchant for doing the same with the private parts of a male, but we won't persue that, just now (maybe never). We can thank botanist Richard Anthony Salisbury for giving us the name of the plant pictured here. He tells us the name 'Hymenocallis festalis' refers to the "beautiful membrane' which connects the filaments. (Control yourself, Doug. Don't insert that hilarious thought you just had). OK. Back to sanity. The common name for this flower is 'Peruvian Daffodil'. Shall we go with that? It is native to, among other places, Peru, and though it is a member of the Amaryllis family, it does somewhat resemble a daffodil. As you can see, I took these pictures near dusk. That's when I noticed my first flower of the year. It's also the best time to indulge in it's wonderful perfume. The House of Dior can only dream of developing a fragrance this delicious. Oh, back to the ThriftyFun spirit. Three years ago, I purchased a discounted bag of three bulbs for a buck. As you can see, they have multiplied rather nicely. Soon, I'll be giving some away. Sharing is one of my most favorite parts of gardening.
Here is another flower worthy of mention on the ThriftyFun web site, because it is in keeping with the ThriftyFun spirit.
Photo Location
My home in NC
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Thanks for sharing this photo and introducing me to a new plant I've not seen before. I did some research on it and see that it's also called Spider Lily and that it will grow in my 6B climate zone.
Mina,
Just so you'll know. This plant is tropical. You wouldn't be planting it outside in the Fall. It would be best if you grew them in containers, as I have done, and store the bulbs inside over Winter. Ellen Brown wrote an excellent article for ThriftyFun on growing and storing these bulbs. If you still have questions, maybe I can help.
Growing Peruvian Daffodil (Spider Flower, Basket Lily)
I once saw a picture of this beautiful flower and fell in love with it. Thanks for the information. But what I want to tell you is: I've read a few of your articles and I want to tell you that you are informative but mostly you're entertaining.
Linda V
I've been told I have a strange sense of humor. ThriftyFun has a pretty hip bunch of members, so I guess they can dig it. Would love to be your neighbor. That 2,484 miles between us is just a number.
Doug
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