Azucena de Río

Description

Hippeastrum petiolatum (Azucena de Río) is a flowering perennial herbaceous bulbous plant, in the family Amaryllidaceae, distributed from Paraguay to Uruguay and Argentina. Hippeastrum petiolatum grows to a height of 30–40 cm. Leaves are lanceolate, and dark green, forming a basal rosette around 60 cm in diameter. They grow to a length of 20–50 cm. There are up to three scapes per bulb. The paraperigonium consists of minute scales at the throat of the tepal tube, whose segments are unequal and ruffled and 1–2 cm broad at the middle and 15 cm long. Perigone 6–7 cm. The showy flowers are 10 cm in diameter, scarlet-red with purple veins, greenish-yellow in the throat and usually 3–4 in number but may be 5 rarely. Stigma trifid. Bulbs large (10 to 15 cm in diameter).