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Zephyranthes
Also called Aztec Lilies, Rain Lilies, Zephyr Lilies
In Singapore: Rain Lily, West wind flower, 风雨兰 (Grown in Singapore)
Zephyranthes is a genus of about 200 bulbous species, mostly native to the Americas, grown for their crocus-like flowers that often appear after rain. Common members include rain lilies and Z. candida; they need a warm, sunny spot and moist soil during the growing season.
Zephyranthes is a genus of temperate and tropical bulbous plants in the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae, native to the Americas and widely cultivated as ornamentals. Following the expansion of the genus in 2019, which now includes the genera Habranthus and Sprekelia, there are about 200 recognized species, as well as numerous hybrids and cultivars. Common names for species in this genus include fairy lily, rainflower, zephyr lily, magic lily, Atamasco lily, and rain lily.
The name is derived from Ζέφυρος (Zephyrus), the Greek god of the west wind, and ἄνθος (anthos), meaning flower.
These plants are commonly cultivated in US Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 7–10. Rain lily breeders may develop cultivars with greater cold hardness.
Generally rain lilies are sold in nurseries already potted up. This is of benefit since the growth cycle is not interrupted. Rarely (and not ideally), dried bulbs are marketed. Such dried bulbs usually become established after one to two growing seasons and will regain bloom vigor.
Many parts of the plant including the leaves and bulbs are considered to be toxic. The genus has been evaluated for possible medicinal properties, and the biochemically toxic compounds are classed as alkaloids.
It is native to tropical and subtropical America. It has been introduced to Africa, Asia, and Australia. These perennial bulbs (geophytes) tolerate many ecological niches (periodically wet soil to desert conditions).
Parts of Zephyranthes, such as bulbs and leaves, are used in traditional medicine. In Peru, Z. andina (syn. Z. parvula) was used for tumors. In China, Z. rosea was used for breast cancer and in Africa the leaves of Z. candida were used for diabetes mellitus. It was used for simple problems from head ache, cough, cold, and boils to very complicated diseases such as breast cancer, tuberculosis, rheumatism, tumors.
Rainlily · Zephyranthes robusta · Zephyranthes subg. Habranthus · Atamasco Lily · Autumn zephyrlily · Pink Rain Lily · Citron zephyrlily · Island Zephyr Lily · Zephyranthes martinezii · Flower Of The West Wind · Cuban zephyrlily · Zephyranthes tubispatha
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Zephyranthes by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
