Leo and all, You make some good points. I have searched for a good dichotomous key to the genera of the Family Amaryllidaceae and there just isn’t any ’Key Character’ or two or three that I can point to. One of the few keys is in ‘The European Garden Flora ‘ Vol 1 and it is much too vague. Here’s some comparisons between the single variable Amaryllis belladonna and the uniform Lycoris squamigera, but no other species in the genus. I am just listing differences Amaryllis belladonna Mediterranean Climate Mild Winter, Dry summer Bulbs bake prior to bloom Flowers regular and symmetric Range of colors, pink shades, white etc. Native to S. Africa Generally fertile, Seed produced Lycoris squamigera Continetal Climate Cold Winter, Moderate Summer Bulbs need summer moisture prior to bloom Flowers somewhat irregular Flowers uniformly pink with hint of blue in tips and yellow throat Native to China Generally sterile, NO seeds As others have said, do not believe pictures on packages of bulbs in garden centers, web sites (except PBS wiki) or every gardener. I believe one problem is that people grow up with common names such as Naked Ladies or Surprise Lilies which can be applied to both species. And I again pass my doubt that you can grow both species in the same garden. Disclaimer. After years of trying I was successful once in getting Amaryllis belladonna to bloom in my Kansas City garden. Potted bulbs were given winter greenhouse protection above freezing and baked all summer without moisture. They bloomed once. Very pretty and wish I could grow them easily. I passed them on to others in an appropriate climate. Hope this helps. Jim W. On Aug 2, 2014, at 4:09 PM, Leo A. Martin <leo@possi.org> wrote: > Jim Waddick wrote > >> I urge you to go to the PBS wiki and study the >> numerous photos of both species and as you get >> familiar with each you can easily tell which is which. >> >> Amaryllis http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… >> >> Lycoris http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… >> scroll to L. squamigera. > > It is easy for me to tell the two apart. Amaryllis here is expensive, sold in good > nurseries, grows leaves reliably year after year, and blooms about once every 6-7 years > if the gardener is lucky. Lycoris squamigera is very expensive, not sold here, grows > leaves perhaps once or not at all, never blooms and disappears rapidly. > > I went to the two referenced Wiki pages to look. The photos are beautiful. There is > nothing in the text on either page explaining the characteristics shown so well in the > photos. This is common on our Wiki. > > I sometimes teach budding professionals things that are obvious to those in the know, > but not obvious to reasonably intelligent people who don't know what to notice. James Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd Kansas City, MO 64152-2711 USA Phone 816-746-1949