The story of Amaryllis, a shepherdess in Greek mythology is both a charming one but also illustrates botanical confusion.
Once upon a time, as all good tales tell, pretty Amaryllis was picking flowers on a mountainside when she encountered the shepherd Alteo. Now Alteo was as handsome as the god Apollo and the strength of Hercules, in short a damsel's delight.
But, frankly, Alteo was also a bit of a botanical bastard. He lived only for flowers. So enthralled was he, that on numerous occasions he was wont to proclaim that only the maiden who could present him with a new flower would receive his love.
Poor Amaryllis was lost in admiration for this god-like creature but her love was not returned by the study shepherd. Frustrated, she sought advice from the priestess at Delphi. She was given a golden arrow and told to dress in white and every night and wound herself with the arrow. Thus dripping blood, she was knock on the door of Alteo's house.
For 29 nights, Amaryllis did as she was told but Alteo slept On the thirtieth night though, he heard Amaryllis' knocking and opened his door. There stood the girl and from her blood sprang a beautiful red flower. Alteo saw the frail girl and the magnificent bloom and falling in love with her, knelt at her feet.
A lovely tale indeed but Amaryllis isn't quite, er,
Amaryllis. As usual it dates back to the father of botanical nomenclature, Carl Linnaeus. In 1753 he took the name from Roman poet Virgil's pastoral
Eclogues, from the Greek άμαρúσσω (amarysso) meaning "to sparkle" for another lily,
Amaryllis belladonna, the Jersey of Belladonna Lily. But this is not the familiar Amaryllis of seasonal celebrations; that is another lily, correctly
Hippeastrum from South and Central America. Both though, it should be noted, are a credit to the love-smitten little shepherdess. Anyway, as Anne Lamott observed, "It helps beyond words to plant bulbs in the dark of winter."
