Lycoris radiata

Lycoris radiata is a bulbous perennial with showy, bright-red flowers. When in full bloom, spindly stamens, likened to the image of spider legs, extend slightly upward and outward from the flower's center. The flowers of the plant generally appear around late August to early September, before the leaves fully develop, on scapes rising from the ground. Four to six 2-inch long flowers, arranged in umbels, perch atop each plant stalk. Individual flowers are irregular, with narrow segments which curve backwards. The leaves, which tend to emerge in October, are a greyish-green color, parallel-sided, wide and feature a paler central stripe. The plant retains its leaves throughout the winter season, but will begin to shed them away as temperatures start to warm in late spring. ==Taxonomy==

The presumed original form of Lycoris radiata, known as L. radiata var. pumila, occurs only in China. It is a diploid, with 11 pairs of chromosomes (2N = 22), and is able to reproduce by seed. Triploid forms, with 33 chromosomes, are known as L. radiata var. radiata. These are widespread in China and also in Japan, from where the species was introduced into cultivation in America and elsewhere. The triploid forms are sterile, and reproduce only vegetatively, via bulbs. The Japanese triploids are genetically uniform. It has been suggested that they were introduced into Japan from China along with rice cultivation. ==Cultivation==

All plant species belonging to the genus Lycoris, including L. radiata, are native to East Asia. The plant was first introduced into the United States in 1854 following the signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa, a peace treaty brokered between the United States of America and Japan which effectively opened up Japanese ports for trade with the U.S. It is alleged that Captain William Roberts, a botany enthusiast and an ally of Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry of the U.S Navy, returned to the U.S with only three bulbs of the red spider lily from this travels abroad. The bulbs were then planted by his niece who found that they did not bloom until after the first good rain in the fall season. L. radiata has since become naturalized in North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, and many other southern states of the US. Since the Japanese variety of L. radiata is a sterile triploid, the introduced plants were also sterile and could only reproduce via bulb division. Today, red spider lilies are appreciated as ornamental and medicinal plants in various countries all across Asia, Europe and in the United States. Lycoris radiata is not frost-hardy in countries like England, and so can only be grown under glass or in a very sheltered environment. In warm-summer climates such as the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains, where there is sufficient summer heat to harden off the bulbs, the plants are hardy to around . Like other plants in the genus Lycoris, L. radiata remains dormant during the summer season, flowering on leafless scapes once the summer begins to transition into the fall. Furthermore, in the environments in which they are commonly grown, L. radiata tend to bloom in step with the coming of the rainy season, and or the coming of the hurricane season, as well as the fall equinox. As such, spider lilies are also known as hurricane lilies or equinox lilies. == Toxicity and medicinal applications ==

Like all members of the genus Lycoris, the bulbs of Lycoris radiata are poisonous, mostly due to the presence of the toxic alkaloid lycorine. If ingested, bulbs can cause diarrhea, vomiting, convulsions, and - in severe cases - even death. The plant is cultivated in China for galantamine extraction. Plants of the amaryllis family are all known to contain varying quantities of naturally occurring galantamine, and the compound can be extracted in trace amounts from the leaves and roots of L. radiata, but is most abundant within the bulbs. == In East Asian culture ==

Japan The Japanese common name for Lycoris radiata, , literally means "flower of (Buddhist holiday around the autumnal equinox, which itself literally means "the other shore", or "the distant shore".)") taken from the name of a mythical flower described in Chinese translation of the Lotus Sutra. It is called by over 50 other local names in Japan. The flower has since become a cultural symbol, representing the arrival of fall. Red spider lilies are frequently seen in Japan growing along roadways and around the perimeters of rice fields and houses. The lilies are purposefully planted near rice fields in order to deter mice and other animals from invading the rice paddies; the poisonous bulbs are thought to keep the unwanted critters away. Korea In Korean culture, the Lycoris Radiata is called "상사화" (Sangsahwa), meaning "the flower of unrealized love". It has a connotation of "eternal separation". This is believed to originate from its characteristic that its flower only grow in autumn after all the leaves fall, and its leaves only grow after the flower withers in winter; the two never appearing at the same time. China, Taiwan, Hong Kong Although the flower originated in China before it spread to the rest of Asia, it has not achieved wide ranged cultural connotation of its own in the Chinese speaking societies. The Chinese common name for "Lycoris radiata" is simply "stone garlic" (石蒜). Some say that the Lycoris radiata is an auspicious symbol that represents beauty in the Chinese connotation. However, in recent years, with the popularity of Japanese anime and Korean drama influences in the Chinese societies, the flower has largely taken on the Japanese connotation with death and afterlife, and the Korean connotation of unrealized love. ==References==