There are two bulbous plants which cause a bit of confusion in the minds of those wishing to give them a precise identity. They are the Amaryllis, and the Hippeastrum. Both belong to the great (and mainly bulbous) family, the Amaryllidaceae. Some taxonomists will have it that they should really be attached to the another great monocotyledon family, the Liliaceae. Some have already lumped many Amaryllis into Hippeastrum, and there are as many taxonomists who have no idea to which family they belong. In other words the naming is a bit of a dog’s breakfast, and your guess is as good as anyone’s, but then, what could one possibly expect from a man-made system of naming plants – slotting things into convenient compartments. No doubt in a fairly short time geneticists will get around to sorting out the relationships by DNA testing. There is no doubt, however, that whether they are found to be the same or quite different, most gardeners will agree that they are spectacular flowers produced from large bulbs. The Amaryllis, according to modern thought, is a single species coming originally from South Africa. The Hippeastrum originates in South America.
On a practical level the Hippeastrum and Amaryllis are accommodating plants. The flowers are produced from large bulbs which can be left alone in a large pot for several years (they will perform poorly if disturbed more often) after potting in a good but not over rich compost. When potting, the bulbs are never buried but only inserted to about a third of their height. When established they only need to be given a small shot of fertilizer when the flower spike starts to shoot up. Otherwise the bulbs contain all the nutrition the plants need. Two of my favourites are the ‘Apple Blossom’ (white flowers with a delicate flush of pink) and the other a brilliant red flowered hybrid called ‘Red Lion.’ Both have deep throats – a mark of singular distinction to judges. All thrive in a light to medium loam compost with good drainage. These plants are not the kind that one can move easily to and from the dining room table when you have guests, because they get too large. They are best viewed on the patio, or even planted out in a dry well-drained border.
I have often thought that the Sacred Lotus is one of the most spectacular plants of the tropics when grown and displayed well. Belonging to the water lily family its origins are African and Asiatic, and it has for thousands of years been held to be sacred in the Middle East, India, Tibet and China, and pretty well everywhere that East Indians, Chinese and other Asiatic peoples have migrated, including of course, Guyana. In Guyana I have seen leaves used as plates during Hindu ceremonies, and the flowers and seed capsules are often used in the home, especially as the former are sweetly scented.
The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a plant of the tropics of the world. It is not known in the wild state, but it is generally thought to have originated in South America. You can easily see how the Latin name batata came to be potato. A whimsical view would be that it came to us as a consequence of someone describing it who had a heavy cold! The sweet potato is of course an important vegetable. In the West Indies alone over eighty varieties have been identified, new varieties arising by mutation, chance seedlings, hybridization and selection from existing strains.
Until next week may your God go with you wherever you may be.
