Amaryllis is a monotypic (only one species) genus containing Amaryllis belladonna. The Belladonna Lily is a native of South Africa. It is often confused with the Hippeastrum which is generally known as Amaryllis.

Hippeastrum is a genus composed of several species in contrast to Amaryllis which contain only one species. Hippeastrum genus is belong to South America, has 4-6 large flowers on a hollow stem, while Amaryllis belladonna has 2-12 smaller flowers on a solid stem. The name Amaryllis comes from “Amarella” for the bitterness of the bulb or ‘sparkling’ a beautiful shepherdess in Greek mythology. The specific epithet Belladonna means beautiful lady. Belladonna Lily is referred to as Naked Lady in the United States, and the Madonna Lily in Italy. The common name “Naked Lady” comes from the plant’s pattern of flowering when the foliage has died down.

Amaryllis belladonna is a bulbous plant, each bulb can be reached 5–10 cm in diameter. It has several strap-shaped, green leaves, 30–50 cm long and 2–3 cm broad. The leaves of the Belladonna Lily are appearing in the autumn and die down by late spring. The bulb is then dormant until late summer. By this time, the bulb produces one or two, 40–60 cm tall naked stems, each of which bear a cluster of 2-12 trumpet-shaped, fragrant white, pink or purple flowers. The plant is quite frost resistant, the bulbs under the soil withstand -20 ˚C.

Amaryllis belladonna can also tolerate dry conditions, they are highly tolerant of drought and require little watering. Large clumps of bulbs can be divided from the mother bulb during dormant period. It reproduces by bulb division or seeds. Belladonna Lily was introduced into cultivation at the beginning of the eighteenth century. There is an Amaryllis belladonna hybrid which was bred in the 1800s in Australia. It is not known the exact species it was crossed with to produce color variations of white, cream, peach, magenta and nearly red hues. The hybrids were crossed back onto the original Belladonna Lily and with each other to produce naturally seed-bearing crosses that come in a very wide range of flower sizes, shapes, stem heights and intensities of pink.

Use in Landscape: In its natural habitat, Amaryllis belladonna is found in dense groups among rocks. Therefore, the best place to plant them would be in a rock garden. They can be grown between a ground cover or mixed border. Belladonna Lily can also be grown in large containers.