Amaryllis PAPILIO~Brazilian Butterfly

Pedro Ravenna described and named this plant Amaryllis papillio in 1970.  For years it was thought to be extinct in the wild, but was later found growing in tall trees in the Atlantic rainforests of southern Brazil.  Presumably it had been growing in the ground in its first known location.

Amaryllis Papilio can be grown indoors or out just like other hippeastrum.  It usually has two flowers per stem, though I have seen the occasional third flower bud.  Frequently these go dormant in the heat of summer and start growth again in the autumn months.  Ours frequently stay in leaf through the winter if they are protected from hard frosts.  In fact they stay in leaf when everything else goes dormant from frosts and so I consider them more cold hardy (also not prone to rot) than other hippeastrum.  Supprisingly, for us these grow well even in clay, requiring no special soil mix.  They have survived and thriven where many weak hybrids have perished.  Papilio is known to be resistant to viruses and has been used extensively to strengthen and beautify modern hybrids.

The bulbs for sale are large and bloomed for us when planted in the spring of 2017.  They may be shipped in leaf, or dormant, depending on the season.  We cannot gurantee when they will bloom again for you.    As a species, the flower schedule of Papilio is not as predictable as modern hybrids.  Sometimes it does not bloom quickly, please be patient.