Amaryllis! Spring is coming!

Amaryllises were introduced into cultivation at the beginning of the eighteenth century. However, most of the so-called Amaryllis bulbs sold as 'ready to bloom for the holidays' (which our little friend to the left is) belong to the allied genus Hippeastrum, despite being labeled as 'Amaryllis' by sellers and nurseries. Adding to the name confusion, some bulbs of other species with a similar growth and flowering pattern are also sometimes called by another common name for this plant, "naked ladies", even though those species have their own more widely used and accepted common names, such as the Resurrection Lily. Naked ladies? Woo woo!