[ 294 ] 



Amaryllis Sarniensis. Guernsey 



Amaryllis. . 

 ' »» frfr $ » » j j t $ $$ » $ $ » | fr frfr 



C/cz/i #«</ Order. 



Hexandria Monogynia. 



Generic Character. 



Cor. hexapetaloidea irregularis. Filamenta fauci tubi inferta 



declinata inaequalia proportione vel direclione. Linn. fil. 



Ait. Kezv. p. 415. 



Specific Character and Synonyms. 

 AMARYLLIS Jarnienfis, petalis linearibus planis, ftaminibus 



piftilloque re&iufculis corolla longioribus, 



ftigmatibus partitis revolutis. Linn. fil. Ait. 



Kew. v. 1. p. 420. Thunb. Jap. p. 131. 

 LILIUM farnienfe. Dougl. Monogr. t. 1, 2. 

 NARCISSUS japonicus rutilo flore. Corn. Canad. Kampf. 



Aman. p. 872. 



. The Guernfey Lily, as it is moil commonly called, is ori- 

 ginally a native of Japan ; where it is defcribed to grow by 

 K/empfer and Thunberc, who vifited that ifland, the latter 

 fays on the hills about Nagafaki, from thence roots are faid 

 to have been introduced to the garden of Johannes Morinus 

 at Paris, in which it flowered, Oaober 1634 : its introdudion 

 to this country, which was fubfequent to that date, as Dr. 

 Douglass relates in his Monographia on this plant, "happened 

 1 by a very fingular melancholy accident, of whicb Dr. Mo- 

 ri son, who no doubt had it from fome perfons then refiding 

 in Guernfey, gives us the following account : A Dutch or 

 Englifh fhip, it is uncertain which, coming from Japan, 

 | with fome of the roots of this flower on board, was call 



* away on the ifland of Guernfey ; the roots were thrown upon 

 ' a fandy more, and fo by the force of the winds and waves, 

 ( were foon buried in fand ; there they remained for fome 



* years, and afterwards, to the great furprife and admiration 

 j of the inhabitants, the flowers appeared in all their pomp 

 'and beauty." Some of thefc foon made their appearance in 

 Ins country: Mr. Aiton relates, that the plant was cultivated 

 here in 1659, b >' General Lambert, at Wimbledon. 



Fatal as Guernfey proved to the unfortunate mariners, it 

 afforded the roots of our plant a foil and fituation apparently 

 congenial to their own; in that ifland they have flourifhed 



ever 



