Amaryllis, huh?

These beauties grow very happily in both our front and back yards. The 'original' plants, which I brought from Miami some 20 years ago were grown from bulbs that my Nana grew many decades ago, and so are understandably special to me. While doing a bit of research I learned to my complete surprise, that what we commonly call 'Amaryllis', are actually plants called 'Hippeastrum'. Both are in the family 'Amaryllidaceae'  which is probably where the confusion begins. 'Our' Amaryllis is a new world bulb coming originally from South America. The 'other' one is a southern African genus. The name 'Amaryllis' has pretty much become accepted as the generic name and has been used for 'Hippeastrum' for many years. If you find this confusing, take comfort that botanists, collectors and most of the rest of us are confused as well. I'll just keep on calling them Amaryllis and continue to enjoy their beauty!