Augustin De Candolle wrote the descriptions for the first four volumes of
Redouté's Les Liliacées. Regarding Amaryllis
regina he wrote "Au milieu du brillant genre des Amaryllis, cette
espéce se fait remarkuer par la beauté de sa fleur qui est
très-grande et d'un beau rouge ponceau,"—a beautiful clear
rose.
Linn. fil. distinguished Amaryllis reginae by its shorter tube, a
feature Linnaeus did not mention. Rather, Linnaeus noted that the petals of
this species were not recurved at the base. This plate may be the
Lilium Reginae of Douglas, but I am not certain. Philip Miller
described the color of that flower as copper inclining to red.
Redoute's plate does not agree with Amaryllis reginae of the younger
Linné, which was referred to the West Indische rothe Lilie of
Seligmann (left). The plant designated by Linnaeus was apparently the Cape
Belladonna (right).
