Amaryllis belladonna

Naked ladies, Naked Ladies

Family: Amaryllidaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Naked ladies is a naturalized perennial found in coastal California regions including Central Coast, San Francisco Bay, Southern Coast, and San Bernardin Mountains in disturbed sites, often around abandoned home sites, at elevations below 750 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces pink flowers with occasional white or yellow bases, arranged in an umbel-like cluster and spreading 5 to 8 centimeters wide. Growing with stout stems 30 to 60 centimeters tall emerging from a bulb 5 to 10 centimeters in size, it develops distinctive linear leaves 30 to 45 centimeters long and 1.5 to 3 centimeters wide. Its leaves appear before the flowers and typically wither by blooming time, revealing delicate funnel-shaped blossoms that spread or slightly reflex. The plant produces spheric capsules that dehisce irregularly, with seeds that are fleshy and white or pale pink.

Habitat: Disturbed sites, often around abandoned home sites

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: < 750 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB, SCo, SnBr

California counties: San Bernardino, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Orange, Marin, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Sonoma, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.