Botanical name: Hippeastrum puniceum
Barbados lily, Easter lily or amaryllis lily is a bulbous perennial native to tropical regions of South America although it has become naturalized elsewhere. Plants have 4–6 leaves, each of which is bright green, 30-60 cm long by 2.5-3 cm wide, strap-shaped (lorate) and tapers at the end to an acute apex. The leaves are not fully developed when the flowers appear (i.e. they are more or less hysteranthous). The flowers are borne in an umbel on a stem (scape) which is 40-60 cm tall. The umbel has lanceolate green bracts at its base. The petals, or more accurately tepals, are orange-red with paler bases. The lower two tepals are much narrower than the lateral ones. During Easter times this used to flower in abundance around the church in my childhood days, where it was planted in lines and rows. But of late, there are no lilies now in those places. As i am very fond of lilies, recently i got some bulbs from my friend and it is growing now. This flower was taken on 27th April, 2012 in Mysore on the wayside where i stay presently.
