(edit) Okay, I bowed to peer pressure and renamed it Six Suitors. I initially counted seven because the anther behind the stigma looked big enough for two, but you are correct, there are only six. Here is a final flower to close out the work week. This one is from my garden. We have a bunch of Minervas growing in a pot, and they flower twice a year if we are lucky. The blooms are huge, so I was able to get the camera in there and get a close-up of the seven stamen with the stigma blurred out in the foreground. At the tips of the stamen are the anthers, and they are covered in pollen, as you can see. Aaaaachoo! ----- The AMARYLLIS (Hippeastrum) Amaryllis Minerva Amaryllis is a monotypic genus of plant containing one species, the Belladonna Lily (Amaryllis belladonna), a native of South Africa. It is often confused with the Hippeastrum. Hippeastrum is a genus of about 70-75 species and 600+ hybrids and cultivars of bulbous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas from Argentina north to Mexico and the Caribbean. Some species are grown for their large showy flowers. These plants are popularly but erroneously known as Amaryllis. Hippeastrum is a very popular bulb flower for indoor growing. The bulb is tender and should not be exposed to frost, but is otherwise easy to grow, with large rewards for small efforts, especially those that bloom inside during the winter months. The very large, decorative flowers can also be grown outside with minimal care in temperate areas. "Hippeastrum" is Latin for "horseman's star" (also known today as "knight's star") and was chosen in 1837 by the Honorable Reverend William Herbert, Dean of Manchester. No one is entirely sure why he picked this name although buds on the verge of opening do look something like a horse's ear and clearly the blossoms do resemble six-pointed stars. The first commercial breeders of hippeastrums were Dutch growers who imported several species (see list at right) from Mexico and South America and began developing cultivars and hybrids from them in the 18th century; the first of these reached North America early in the 19th century. In 1946 two Dutch growers moved to the Union of South Africa and began cultivation there. Although most hippeastrums come from the Dutch and South African sources, bulbs are now being developed in the United States, Japan, Israel, India, Brazil and Australia. The double flowers from Japan are particularily beautiful. The scientific name Amaryllis is taken from a shepherdess in one of Virgil's pastorals, and means any young rustic maiden. It is sometimes given as a girls' name in modern times. More info on the Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) can be found HERE. ----- Thank you for your lily-livered comments on my last upload, Bloor Daylilly.

----- Olympus C-8080WZ & PhotoshopCS. (625)