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Red Spider Lily🌺
Lycoris radiata
ヒガンバナ
A perennial that blooms en masse with vivid red flowers around the autumn equinox. It is a "leaf unseen, flower unseen" plant: the leaves are absent during flowering and emerge only after the flowers fade. It grows in dense colonies on paddy field embankments, cemeteries, and satoyama areas. The entire plant is toxic (containing lycorine and other alkaloids). It was historically planted around rice paddies to repel moles and rodents.
Identification Points
- ✓Vivid red flowers with recurved tepals, blooming without leaves
- ✓Six narrow tepals curve strongly backward; stamens and pistil protrude prominently
- ✓Leaves emerge in winter to spring and wither in summer
- ✓Often found in dense colonies on paddy embankments and in cemeteries
Habitat
Paddy field embankments, cemeteries, forest edges, and satoyama areas
Season
September–October (flowers); November–June (leaves)
3D Specimen Model
Kyushu University, Shikano Lab (CC0)
View on Sketchfab→Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Linear
Growth form
Herb
Petal count
3 petals
Petal fusion
Free
Flower color
Red
Flowering season
Autumn
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Aromatic
None
Phylogenetic Positionヒガンバナ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Asparagales > Amaryllidaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene
Evolution Notes
The Amaryllidaceae diverged relatively early among monocots. Their dormancy and regeneration strategy via bulbs is an adaptation to environments with strong seasonal variation.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification