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Amaryllis
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Amaryllis Family (monocot) - Amaryllidaceae

Family Characteristics

Characteristic	Description
Sepals	3 – which look like petals; [see Fig. 1 (large )]. when petals and sepals look alike, they are called tepals.
Petals	3 tepals [see Fig. 1 (large )].
Flowers	Arranged like umbels on top a leafless stalk (i.e., scape) with bracts below the umbel. These bracts are called spathaceous because they, like the spathes you see in the Araceae, envelope an inflorescence (i.e., a cluster of flowers) [see Fig. 2 (large )]. An umbel is an arrangement of flowers whose stalks - or pedicels - originate at the same point.
Stamens	6 [see Fig. 3 (large )]
Style/Stigma	One style, 3-lobed stigma [see Fig. 3 (large )]
Ovary	Inferior [see Fig. 4 (large )]
Fruit	A capsule (seeds are released from capsule when the sides separate, thereby freeing them from their respective chambers (i.e., locules); the name of this type of capsule is loculicidal); fruit can also be a berry (i.e., a fleshy fruit), [see Fig. 4 (large )].
Leaves	Usually alternate, simple and linear; arise near the roots.
Roots	On bulbs [see Fig. 5 (large )]

What’s Going On? (Details of interest to the botanical artist)

Bulb [see Fig. 6 (large )]
Capsule sketch [see Fig. 7 (large )]
Different views of daffodil flower [see Fig. 8 (large )]

Landscape & Cut Flower Equivalents

Bloomeria sp. [see Fig. 9 (large )]
Hippeastrum sp.
Hymenocallis sp. [see Fig. 10 (large )]
Narcissus 'Ziva' [see Fig. 11 (large )]

Selected Resources for this Family

American Daffodil Society. 1995 to present. http://daffodilusa.org.

This site contains a lot of information. Artists can learn about divisions & cultivars, how to grow daffodils, and how to order bulbs. They can also investigate links leading to several other daffodil societies, as well as to botany-related sites. The American Daffodil Society has their own listserv called DAFFNET.

Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries. 1992. The Visual Dictionary of Plants. DK Publishing, Inc. ISBN: 1-56458-016-4.

Labeled photographs of bulbs, corms, and rhizomes can be found on page 49.

Greene, Gary. 1997. Creating Radiant Flowers in Colored Pencil. North Light Books. ISBN: 0-304-35828-2

Instructions on how to paint members of this family in colored pencil - amaryllis (p. 36), daffodil (p. 60).

Harrison-Tustain, Susan. 1999. Glorious Garden Flowers in Watercolor. North Light Books. ISBN: 1-58180-389-3

Instructions on how to paint daffodils (pp. 98-103); comments about painting white-on-white using daffodils as an example (p. 43).

Hogan, Sean. 2003. Flora: The Gardener's Bible. Global Book Publishing. ISBN: 1-74048-097-X.

Look up individual species as you need to learn about them .

King, Bente Starcke. 2004. Beautiful Botanicals: Painting and Drawing Flowers and Plants. North Light Books. ISBN: 1-58180-494-6.

See painting demonstrations on the following pages: Snowdrops and Winter Aconites (p. 72-75); Daffodils (p. 78-81).

L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University. 1976. Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. Reprinted in 2000 by Barnes & Noble, Inc. ISBN: 0-7607-2116-5.

Description of this plant family (p. 66); descriptive illustrations of six different species in this family (p. 66); individual genera in this family have their own listing. To see an image of this reference (the Barnes & Noble edition), go to Barnes & Noble to view the cover of this book. The following link is to the original 1976 version of this book.

Lighthipe, Mindy. 2001. Drawing on the Beauty of Plants. BBB Publishing. BugsBeastsBotanicals.com

Instructions on how to draw a root system (pp. 20-23).

Ockenga, Starr. 2002. Amaryllis. Clarkson Potter/Publishers. ISBN: 0-609-60881-9.

A great reference for anyone who loves to grow amaryllis plants. Ockenga does a wonderful job of describing the care and cultivation of amaryllis plants, describing the morphological features of amaryllis plants, and describing the history of this flowering bulb. Included is an appendix of 96 hybrids, complete with photographs and information about flower type (i.e., miniature, single flowering, double flowering), height, flower size, and amount of time from planting to flowering. The resource section of this book contains information about nurseries, greenhouse supplies, bulb societies, and books.

Phillips, Roger & Martyn Rix. 2002. The Botanical Garden (Vol. II): Perennials and Annuals. Firefly Books. ISBN: 1-55297-592-4.

Survey of eleven genera in the Amaryllidaceae, includes photos of dissected flowers (pp. 464-473). Genera highlighted are: Amaryllis, Hippeastrum, Cyrtanthus, Nerine, Lycoris, Crinum, Pancratium, Narcissus, Sternbergia, Galanthus, Leucojum.

Sherwood, Shirley. 1996. Contemporary Botanical Artists: The Shirley Sherwood Collection. Stirling Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN: 0-297-82270-5

Amaryllis belladonna painting by Fay Anderson (p. 16); Nerine bowdenii painting by Margaret Stones (p. 196); Haemanthus canaliculatus & Cyrtanthus leucanthus painting by Ellaphie Ward-Hillhorst (p. 211).

Sherwood, Shirley. 2001. A Passion for Plants: Contemporary Botanical Masterworks. Stirling Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN: 0-304-35828-2

Galanthus painting by Kate Nessler (p. 153); Hippeastrum buds and seed capsule by Pandora Sellars (p. 205).

Trinklein, David. 2002. University of Missouri - Columbia. Spring Flowering Bulbs: Daffodils. MU Guide. Publication G6610. (http://muextension.missouri.edu)

This publication published by the Dept. of Horticulture is a must-have for any artist's plant folder. In addition to describing how to plant and care for daffodils, Trinklein identifies the parts of a daffodil flower and uses illustrations to describe the major divisions of daffodils. This publication is available for download and printing for your personal use here.

USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA

Do a Scientific Name search for plants in this family.

Watson, L. and M.J. Dallwitz. 1992 to present. The Families of Flowering Plants: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, Information Retrieval. Version: 13th January 2005. http://delta-intkey.com

Thorough overview of the Amaryllidaceae. Illustrations of Narcissus, Galanthus, Leucojum, Sprekelia, Narcissus, Brinum, Pancratium. Do a search for "amaryllidaceae."

West, Keith 1983. How to Draw Plants: The Techniques of Botanical Illustration. Timber Press, Inc. ISBN: 0-88192-350-8

West discusses how to draw roots on pages 46-48.

West, Keith 1991. Painting Plant Portraits: A Step-by-Step Guide. Timber Press, Inc. ISBN: 0-88192-372-9

Drawing and painting instructions to create paintings of Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrop, p. 19) and Narcissus cultivar (p. 28).

Wunderlich, Eleanor B. 1996. Botanical Illustration in Watercolor. Watson-Guptill Publications. ISBN: 0-8230-0530-5

Of special interest to artists are the sections about drawing paperwhite bulbs and roots (pp. 66-67) and painting paperwhite bulbs and roots (p. 122-125).

Zomlefer, Wendy B. 1994. Guide to Flowering Plant Families. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 0-8078-4470-5.

In-depth description of the Amaryllidaceae, illustrations highlighting the characteristics of this family (pp. 285-288).

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