red lion

This amaryllis was given to me as a gift last year, as "Red Amaryllis" so I assume that it is 'Red Lion' which is the most common red amaryllis out there. We've all seen it. We've probably all grown it. So not a lot of reason to post it. But what we don't realize from all the pretty studio photos of this amaryllis, is the incredible lights in the petals, the silky shininess, or the iridescent fireworks that appear on the petals when the sunlight hits it.

That same direct sunlight makes for poor lighting for photographs, too much contrast in dark shadows and blown-out highlights. So it's no wonder that you don't see them unless you grow the plant. I think you can get a sense of the silkiness from these photos, but not the sparkles, which must be smaller than the screen pixels. By the way, I think my plant is a mutation of Red Lion, because of the weird lacination on the inner portions of the two upper petals. Maybe it's because of the mass reproduction of this plant.