Lycoris (genus)

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Lycoris

Lycoris radiata, a species with long stamens

Kingdom:	Plantae
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Genus:	Lycoris Herb.

Species

See text

Lycoris sanguinea, a species with short stamens

Lycoris is a genus of 13–20 species of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, formerly often treated in the family Liliaceae. They are native to eastern and southern Asia in Japan, southern Korea, eastern and southern China, northern Vietnam, northern Laos, northern Thailand, northern Myanmar, Nepal, northern Pakistan, Afghanistan, and eastern Iran. In English they are also called hurricane lilies or cluster amaryllises. The genus shares the English name spider lily with two other related genera; in Chinese they are known as 石蒜属 shi suan shu, and in Japanese, ヒガンバナ属.^[1].^[2]^[3] This means equinox flower, because they bloom during the autumnal equinoctial week in Japan.

They are bulb-producing perennial plants. The leaves are long and slender, 30–60 cm long and only 0.5–2 cm broad. The scape is erect, 30–70 cm tall, bearing a terminal umbel of four to eight flowers, which can be white, yellow, orange, or red. The flowers divide into two types, those very long, filamentous stamens two or three times as long as the tepals (subgenus Lycoris; e.g. Lycoris radiata), and those with shorter stamens not much longer than the tepals (subgenus Symmanthus Traub & Moldenke; e.g. Lycoris sanguinea). The fruit is a three-velved capsule containing several black seeds. Many of the species are sterile, reproducing only vegetatively, and are probably of hybrid origin; several additional known hybrids occur.^[1]^[4]^[2]

1 Selected species
2 Cultivation and uses
3 Legends
4 Language of flowers
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Selected species

Lycoris anhuiensis Y.Xu & G.J.Fan
Lycoris aurea (Golden Spider Lily) (L'Hér.) Herb.
Lycoris caldwellii (Magic Lily) Traub
Lycoris chinensis (Yellow Surprise Lily) Traub
Lycoris guangxiensis Y.Xu & G.J.Fan
Lycoris incarnata (Peppermint Surprise Lily) Comes ex Sprenger
Lycoris longituba (Long Tube Surprise Lily) Y.Xu & G.J.Fan
Lycoris radiata (Spider Lily) (L'Hér.) Herb.
Lycoris sanguinea (Orange Spider Lily) Maxim.
Lycoris shaanxiensis Y.Xu & Z.B.Hu
Lycoris sprengeri (Tie Dye Surprise Lily) Comes ex Baker
Lycoris squamigera (Naked Lady, Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, Resurrection Lily) Maxim.
Lycoris straminea Lindl.

Hybrids

Lycoris × albiflora (White Spider Lily) Koidz. (natural hybrid, parentage uncertain)
Lycoris × houdyshelii (Surprise Lily) Traub (cultivated hybrid, unknown origin)
Lycoris × rosea Traub & Moldenke (probably L. radiata × L. sprengeri)

[edit] Cultivation and uses

Lycoris are extensively cultivated as ornamental plants in Japan and China, and also in other warm temperate regions of the world. In Japan, they are widely used at the edges of rice paddy fields to provide a strip of bright flowers in the summer, and over 230 cultivars have been selected for garden use. They are locally naturalised in the southeastern United States, where they are often called hurricane flowers.

[edit] Legends

Since these scarlet flowers usually bloom near cemeteries around the autumnal equinox, they are described in the Lotus Sutra as ominous flowers that grow in Diyu, or Huángquán (Simplified Chinese: 黄泉; Traditional Chinese: 黃泉), and guide the dead into the next reincarnation.

When the flowers of Lycoris bloom, their leaves would have fallen; When their leaves grow, the flowers would have wilted. This weird phenomenon results in various legends. Here below is a famous one: A long, long time ago, there were two elves :Mañju (Simplified Chinese: 曼珠; Traditional Chinese: 曼珠) , who guarded the flower, and Saka(Simplified Chinese: 沙华; Traditional Chinese: 沙華) , who guarded the leaves. Out of curiosity, they defied their fate of being guarding the herb alone, and managed to meet each other. At first sight, they fell in love with each other. The God, exasperated by their waywardness, separated the miserable couple, and laid a curse on them as a punishment : The flowers of Mañju shall never meet the leaves of Saka again.

It was said that each time when the couple met after death in Diyu, they vowed to meet each other after reincarnation. However, neither of them could keep their words. In commemoration of the persevere couple, some call the herbs 'Mañjusaka' (Simplified Chinese:曼珠沙华; Traditional Chinese: 曼珠沙華), a mixture of 'Mañju' and 'Saka', instead of their scientific name.

Some other legends have it that when you see someone that you may never meet again, these flowers, also called red spider lilies, would bloom along the path. Probably because of these sorrowful legends, Japanese people often use these flowers in funerals.

[edit] Language of flowers

The language of flowers for Lycoris in Japan seems pessimistic: Poignant memories. That in Korea is similar: Yearning for each other. In China, however, due to their bright colour, these flowers imply elegance and purity. Chinese people often use them as decorations in festivals or celebrations.