MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 31 
Amaryllis. The greater part of Herbert’s life was de- 
voted to the Saaetioddan of the order and the cultivation 
of all the known amaryllis, numerous hybrids being raised. 
In a subsequent treatise the genus was separated, probably 
through the suggestions of Linnaeus, into Hippeastrum and 
Amaryllis, Amaryllis Belladonna, indigenous to the Cape of 
Good Hope, being the only remaining representative, while 
the western group embraced many species. The separation 
was not entirely geographical, however, but founded on 
minute botanical characters. Up to this period the genus 
had been named successively Narcissus, Lilio Narcissus, and 
Amaryllis, which, however, are readily differentiated. The 
liliums have a leafy stem without spathes, while the 
amaryllis produce naked flower stems with buds inclosed in 
spathes. 
There are upwards of 70 described species of Hippeastrum, 
a number of which have been used in the production of the 
thousands of variable present-day hybrids. The most prom- 
inent species, Hippeastrum Reginae, a native of South 
America, was introduced and flowered by Fairchild of Hox- 
ton, England, in 1728, under the name Lilium Reginae. 
It was figured in the Botanical Magazine, 1799, the flower 
being a short funnel-form variety, crimson in color. Huzp- 
eastrum vittatum, native of Peru, was imported into 
urope in 1769, having white flowers prominently over- 
laid with red stripes, with a white keel. Hippeastrum reticu- 
latum, native of Brazil, was introduced into England by 
Dr. Gray, in 1777, and was described in the Botanical Maga- . 
zine, in 1803. The flowers of this species are mauve or 
purple-red, with cross lines and bars of crimson. Hip- 
peastrum equestre, of tropical America, dates back to 1698, 
and is probably one of the earliest parents used in breed- 
ing. Its flowers are bright red with green at the base. Other 
imported species used are Hippeastrum aulicwm, introduced 
from Brazil in 1819, H. psittacinuwm, introduced from 
Brazil in 1820, H. solandriflorwm from Brazil, H. pardinum 
from Peru, and H. Leopoldii. H. Johnsoni, the first re- 
corded hybrid, was raised, in 1799, by an English watch- 
maker named Johnson, who crossed H. Reginae and H. 
vittatum. 
The development of Hippeastrum me bed was taken up 
commercially by Veitch & Sons, of Chelsea, England, about 
1870, resulting in a more open, regular flower. Large se 
of these hybrids were exhibited at the annual shows of the 
Royal Horticultural Society of London. The work of im- 
provement was later taken up by the Belgians, Dutch, and 
Germans. At the present time thousands of hybrids are 
