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Amaryllidaceae
Red Spider Lily
Lycoris radiata
Death, reincarnation, final goodbyes, lost memories.
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae
- Genus
- Lycoris
- Native to
- China, Korea, Nepal
- Bloom season
- Fall
- Type
- Perennial bulb
- Height
- 30–60 cm
- Sunlight
- Part shade to full sun
- Soil
- Well-drained, humus-rich
- Water
- Moderate during growth; dry when dormant
- Hardiness
- 6–10
- Lifespan
- Long-lived bulb
Did you know
- In Japan, where it's called higanbana, the red spider lily blooms during the autumn equinox and is closely associated with the dead — it's planted around graveyards and rice paddies.
- Folklore says the flowers grow along the path souls take to the afterlife, and seeing them means parting with someone you love.
- The flowers and leaves never appear at the same time — leaves emerge after the flowers fade, giving rise to the saying 'flowers and leaves can never meet'.
- The bulbs contain lycorine, a toxic alkaloid that historically protected rice fields and burial sites from pests and rodents.
- Despite the somber symbolism in East Asia, in the American South they're cheerfully called 'surprise lilies' or 'hurricane lilies' because they erupt out of bare ground in September.
Color meanings
Red
Farewell and the afterlife