Hippeastrum ferreyrae -- An Endangered Peruvian Species

Hippeastrum ferreyrae is one of Peru's native endangered plants according to the 1997 IUCN's Red List, this may not be the case now as it has been fourteen years since being published.  While we all hope that H. ferreyrae has increased in population the likeliness of this is quite slim.  Thank goodness this plant is being grown by a few others and it is possible we have different clones to produce seed.  Of course I will try to self pollinate but the outcome of it producing seed with its own pollen isn't great as most Hippeastrum are not self fertile. 


Hippeastrum ferreyrae is native to Peruvian forests at around 150-200m in elevation and is also found in quite a few Peruvian gardens around the native area.  They bloom usually in September in the Southern Hemisphere and obviously my plant has yet to switch it's growing period to the Northern Hemisphere but it's quite nice to have something bloom when everything else is slowing down for the year!

Hippeastrum ferreyrae

 H. ferreyrae can bloom from incredibly small bulbs, the bulbs can grow to a substantial size and usually only have 2-3 flowers per scape.  The bulbs generally have short necks and leaf out following the blooming period.  The coloring of the flowers could almost be mistaken for a pink but they're a salmon color to almost a red with a luminescent overcast on the petals.  They flowers aren't large by any means but they're not small with the pollen being a nice golden yellow at anthesis.  It seems to be a prolific off setter as is it's very close relative Hippeastrum puniceum. 

Hippeastrum bukasovii - A Peruvian Gem

Hippeastrum bukasovii is an incredible species found in San Juan, Peru at elevations of 600-800m in a very organic mix including lots of leaf litter as the plants are found in a deciduous forest.  I grow mine in a mixture of orchid bark, perlite, pumice and humus with each containing equal parts.  I prefer to grow many of the species from the Andes in a very porous mix to discourage rot which is quite a problem with Hippeastrum or other geophytic plants.

Hippeastrum bukasovii

Peru is home to some extraordinary bulbous species from Amaryllidaceae such as Pyrolirion, Hippeastrum, Ismene, Eucharis, Stenomesson and a few others.  Pyrolirion is an endangered genera which are similar in appearance to Habranthus or Zephyranthes but with spoon shaped stigmas, they're quite attractive but very rare in cultivation, hopefully I can share more knowledge about them in the future as the information available is quite scarce.



Hippeastrum bukasovii has the characteristic green star that many Peruvian species share, I think it adds to their beauty and gives them a very exotic look.  The flowers don't open very wide and sadly it is self-sterile like most Hippeastrum species which means you need two different clones to create seed.  Luckily there is more than one clone in cultivation making reproduction via seed possible.  This bulb once considered extremely rare in cultivation has increased considering the recent travels to Peru, it's quite a lovely plant and I'm glad there are more with the opportunity to grow it!