Hippeastrum papilio



Hippeastrum papilio is a flowering perennial herbaceous bulbous plant, in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to southern Brasil.

Description
Colours are variable from white to creamy-green, or dark apple-green with carmine, maroon or purple striations.

Taxonomy
Collected in the 1960s, it was originally described by Pierfelice Ravenna in 1970 as a species of Amaryllis, it was transferred to Hippeastrum by Johan Van Scheepen in 1997. Placed in the epiphytic Omphalissa subgenus.

Etymology
papilio: Latin Butterfly

Distribution
Tropical rain forests of the Atlantic coast of southern Brazil. While its natural habitat is shrinking, it is becoming increasingly popular in horticulture.

Ecology
Epiphytic.

Conservation
Considered endangered.