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Red spider lily
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Amaryllidoideae
Genus:	Lycoris
Species:	L. radiata
Binomial name
Lycoris radiata (L'Hér.) Herb.
Synonyms
Amaryllis radiata L'Hér. Lycoris terracianii Dammann Nerine japonica Miq. Nerine radiata (L'Hér.) Sweet Orexis radiata (L'Hér.) Salisb.

Lycoris radiata, known as the red spider lily, red magic lily, corpse flower, or equinox flower, is a plant in the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Originally from China, Korea, and Nepal, it was introduced into Japan and from there to the United States and elsewhere. It is considered naturalized in Seychelles and in the Ryukyu Islands. It flowers in the late summer or autumn, often in response to heavy rainfall. The common name hurricane lily refers to this characteristic, as do other common names, such as resurrection lily; these may be used for the genus as a whole.

Description

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 30–70 centimetres (12–28 in) 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, 0.5–1 cm (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) 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.

In phylogenetic analyses based on chloroplast genes, Hori et al. found that all the other species of Lycoris they examined were nested within Lycoris radiata. They suggest that the "species" of Lycoris presently recognized may not be distinct.

Cultivation

All plant species belonging to the lycoris genus, 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 alley 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 have since become naturalized in North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, and many other southern states of the US. Since the Japanese variety of L. radiata are sterile triploids, 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.

Before being placed into the ground, L. radiata bulbs should be stored in a dry environment between 7–13 °C (45–55 °F). The bulbs are ideally planted during the spring in rich, well-drained soil (e.g. sandy with some clay), 20 cm (8 in) deep and 15–30 cm (6–12 in) apart from one another. When possible L. radiata ought to be placed in plots that either receive ample sunlight or are partially shaded. Once planted, the bulbs are best left undisturbed. 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 −18 °C (0 °F). Like other plants in the lycoris genus, L. radiata remains dormant during the summer season, flowering on leafless scapes once the summer begins to transition into the fall. Red spider lilies are sometimes referred to as magic lilies because It is said that the radiant red flowers appear to bloom "magically" from their unremarkably bare stalks. 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.

Uses and legends

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The bulbs of Lycoris radiata are poisonous. These are mostly used in Japan, and they are used to surround rice paddies and houses to keep pests and mice away. This is the reason most of them now grow around rivers. The Japanese common name higanbana (彼岸花) for Lycoris radiata literally means "flower of higan (the other shore of Sanzu River, or a Buddhist holiday around the autumnal equinox)".

In Japan, the red spider lily signals the arrival of fall. Another popular Japanese name for Lycoris radiata is Manjushage (曼珠沙華, Manjusha-ge or Manjusha-ke), taken from the name of a mythical flower described in Chinese translation of the Lotus Sutra. It is called by over 1000 other local names in Japan.

Many Buddhists will use it to celebrate the arrival of fall with a ceremony at the tomb of one of their ancestors. They plant them on graves because it shows a tribute to the dead. People believe that since the red spider lily is mostly associated with death, one should never give a bouquet of these flowers.

Joya relates their association with Japanese Christian martyrs in medieval times. Their places of martyrdom were said to be marked by these flowers.

Since these scarlet flowers usually bloom near cemeteries around the autumnal equinox, they are described in Chinese and Japanese translations of the Lotus Sutra as ominous flowers that grow in Hell, (Chinese: 黃泉), and guide the dead into the next reincarnation.

Some legends have it that when you see someone that you may never meet again, these flowers would bloom along the path. Perhaps because of these sorrowful legends, Japanese people often used these flowers in funerals. Higanbana can be literally taken as the higan (the other or that shore of Sanzu River) flower, decorative and enjoyable, flower of the afterlife in gokuraku jyōdo (極楽浄土, gokuraku jyōdo).

References

1. ^ "Lycoris radiata (L'Hér.) Herb., Bot. Mag. 47: t. 2113, p. 5 (1819)". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
2. "Lycoris radiata (L'Hér.) Herb". World Flora Online. The World Flora Online Consortium. 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
3. Stevens, P.F., Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Amaryllidoideae
4. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
5. ^ Knox, Gary W. (2011), Hurricane Lilies, Lycoris Species, in Florida, Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, retrieved 2012-04-12
6. Klingaman, G. (2000, August 25). Plant of the week. Spiderlily, Red. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.uaex.uada.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/red-spiderlily.aspx
7. ^ Equinox Flower Lycoris radiata. Equinox Flower - Lycoris radiata | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lycoris-radiata/common-name/equinox-flower/
8. Mathew, Brian (1978), The Larger Bulbs, London: B.T. Batsford (in association with the Royal Horticultural Society), ISBN 978-0-7134-1246-8
9. ^ Hori, TA; Hayashi, A; Sasanuma, T & Kurita, S (2006), "Genetic variations in the chloroplast genome and phylogenetic clustering of Lycoris species", Genes Genet. Syst., 81 (4): 243–253, doi:10.1266/ggs.81.243, PMID 17038796
10. ^ Cai, J., Fan, J., Wei, X., & Zhang, L. (2019). A three-dimensional analysis of summer dormancy in the red spider lily (Lycoris radiata). HortScience, 54(9), 1459-1464.
11. Atsumi, T., & Bernhofen, D. M. (2011). The effects of the unequal treaties on normative, economic and institutional changes in 19th century Japan. na.
12. Mathewes, P. (2020, July 22). Southern Garden History Society. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://southerngardenhistory.org/plant-profiles/spider-lily-lycoris-radiata/
13. ^ Equinox Flower Lycoris radiata. Equinox Flower - Lycoris radiata | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lycoris-radiata/common-name/equinox-flower/
14. Klingaman, G. (2000, August 25). Plant of the week. Spiderlily, Red. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.uaex.uada.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/red-spiderlily.aspx
15. "Lycoris radiata (Amaryllidaceae)". Poisonous plants easily mistaken for harmless ones. Tokyo Food Safety Information Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
16. Tanaka, Tyôzaburô (1976). Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World, cited in "Plants for A Future (pfaf.org)". Japan: Keigaku Publishing. OL 4946828M.
17. Chandler, Brian (1999–2002), Higabana – red spider lily, archived from the original on 2011-09-03, retrieved 2011-09-13
18. Yonekura, Koji; Kajita, Tadashi. "Lycoris radiata (L'Hér.) Herb. Japanese name:Higanbana". BG Plants Japanese name - Scientific name Index (YList) (in Japanese). Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
19. Ito, Atsutaro (1911–1924). "2.5". Dainihon Shokubutsu Zui 大日本植物図彙 (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Japan: Dainihon Shokubutsu Zui Shuppansha. pp. 1–5. doi:10.11501/1908225.
20. "Wallpaper photographs: Higanbana". The Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-11-19.
21. "Aliases of Higanbana". PC club, Kumamoto Highschool (in Japanese). 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
22. Klingaman, Gerald (2000), Plant of the Week : Red Spiderlily, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Services, archived from the original on 2012-04-02, retrieved 2011-09-13
23. Joya, Mock (2017-07-12) . Japan and Things Japanese. ISBN 9781136221866.

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External links

• Media related to Lycoris radiata at Wikimedia Commons
• "Lycoris radiata." Backyard Gardeners. 2008. Backyard Gardeners. 13 Apr 2009 <http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pda_deae.html>.
• "Lycoris radiata Herbert." Natural Resource Conservation Service. 13 Apr 2009. USDA. 13 Apr 2009 <http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LYRA>.
• Red Spider Lily Photo Gallery
• Li, S; Chen, C; Zhang, H; Guo, H; Wang, H; Wang, L; Zhang, X; Hua, S; Yu, J; Xiao, P (July 2005). "Identification of natural compounds with antiviral activities against SARS-associated coronavirus". Antiviral Research. 67 (1): 18–23. doi:10.1016/j.antiviral.2005.02.007. PMC 7114104. PMID 15885816.
• "Lycoris radiata". Plants for a Future.

• Amaryllidoideae
• Flora of China
• Flora of Japan
• Flora of Korea
• Flora of Nepal
• Flora of Seychelles
• Garden plants
• Plants described in 1819
• Taxa named by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle
• Plants in Buddhism