Zephyranthes

Scientific name

Zephyranthes Herb.

Common names

rain lily, fairy lily, zephyrlily

Family

Amaryllidaceae

Similar genera

Ophiopogon

Native distribution

tropical and subtropical Americas; southeastern United States, Central America, South America

Species cultivated

Zephyranthes candida (Lindl.) Herb.

Adventive distribution

introduced to Asia, Australia, New Zealand and southern Africa

Weed status

not weedy

Habit

terrestrialterrestrial:
(adj) growing on land as opposed to living in water
to amphibiousamphibious:
(adj) of a plant able to live on land or in water
, bulbous herb

Brief description

Small to medium. Bulbs black or brown, ovoidovoid:
(adj) egg-shaped in three dimensions
or globoseglobose:
(adj) spherical or nearly so
, sometimes with long neck, made up of concentric layers. Leaves sessilesessile:
(adj) attached directly, without a stalk
; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
linear, smooth; apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
acuteacute:
(adj) tapering to a sharp, pointed apex with more or less straight sides; broader than acuminate; forming an angle of less than 90 degrees
; base straight, sheaths overlapping; marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
entire. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
a large solitary flower (rarely 2-flowered), erect; scapescape:
(n) a leafless flowering stalk arising from ground level in acaulescent plants
hollow; spathespathe:
(n) a large bract or bracts subtending and often enclosing an inflorescence
tubulartubular:
(adj) (of a corolla, perianth, calyx tube or other structure) (1) tube-shaped; cylindrical: narrow and elongate with more or less straight sides; (2) having segments fused into a tube (of any shape)
, apically 2-notched. Flowers actinomorphicactinomorphic:
(adj) of flowers, having radial symmetry; capable of being bisected into identifical halves along more than one axis
; perianthperianth:
(n) collective term for the calyx and corolla of a flower; also used for floral whorl(s) in which the calyx and corolla cannot be resolved; any of the leaves or bracts surrounding the sex organs of bryophytes
funnelform, base connateconnate:
(adj) of plant parts congenitally united into a single structure
into tube, often scaly in throat; tepals 6, subequal; stamens 6, of 2 different lengths, inserted at perianthperianth:
(n) collective term for the calyx and corolla of a flower; also used for floral whorl(s) in which the calyx and corolla cannot be resolved; any of the leaves or bracts surrounding the sex organs of bryophytes
throat; stigmastigma:
(n) the portion of the pistil that is receptive to pollen
trifid.

Natural habitat

wetlands

Additional comments

While not true aquatics, many species in this genus are wetland species. Zephyranthes candida is marketed as both a terrestrialterrestrial:
(adj) growing on land as opposed to living in water
and submergedsubmerged:
(adj) (syn. submersed) under water; submerged below the water surface
aquarium plant.