naked lady ~ 08/08/10 ~ Rec Trail

naked lady
Amaryllis belladonna
Amaryllidaceae (formerly Liliaceae)

With all the August fogville gloom around here, I'm happy to post something bright and cheerful. The cool, wet weather sometimes gets me down, but I'd rather pull on a sweater than have to endure the 90-100+ temps inland. While I suspect these naked ladies were purposely planted along the rec trail, I'm keeping them under my non-native plants label for now because I have seen them growing wild. I may have to rethink this later as most I've seen lately have been in yards and should be labeled under garden plants. You may notice many of my label categories seem arbitrary, but they make sense to me and I do try to be consistent.

ps 03/19/14 - For an excellent post of this March lily, as they are known in South Africa, check out Elephant's Eye.

naked lady ~ 07/25/10 ~ Manzanita Park

naked lady
Amaryllis belladonna
Amaryllidaceae (formerly Liliaceae) 
 

Is it August yet? I saw the striking pink of a couple belladonna lilies already blooming here in town. And, yes, I prefer to call them naked ladies, because it's so much more fun to make people look. Hopefully, this next month, I'll take a better picture of them in full bloom compared to last year. Interesting to note, those pretty red and white striped flowers grown for the winter holidays are not actually in the Amaryllis genus; they belong in Hippeastrum.

naked lady ~ 08/05/09 ~ Rec Trail

naked lady
Amaryllis belladonna
Amaryllidaceae (formerly Liliaceae)

You know it's August in the Monterey area when naked ladies pop up everywhere. I just love pointing them out and saying the common name. I was surprised to find out that they are native to South Africa, b/c we have so many in people's yards, empty lots, and even right along the bay. This pic was taken along the Rec Trail near Hopkins Marine Station.

ps 09/09/09 - Naked ladies have all withered more than a week ago. They are truly an August bloom.