# Hurricane Lilies (AKA Naked Ladies!!!)



## KyushuCalanthe (Oct 6, 2010)

Well, that's what they call them in America anyway. Here in Japan they are called _higanbana_, since they flower right around the autumnal equinox and Buddhist holiday week,_ ohigan_.

Last weekend my girlfriend and I went to a local river valley that is full of the lovely _Lycoris radiata_, a summer dormant, fall flowering bulbous species. The leaf-less flowering stalks come up "out of nowhere" hence the common names "naked lady" and "surprise lily". Later in the fall the daffodil-like leaves appear. This plant is in fact not a native of Japan, but another import from China. That isn't remarkable except that none can reproduce by seed and yet this plant numbers into the untold thousands throughout southern Japan and Korea. All either reproduced vegetatively or were planted by human hands. All plants in Japan are from one basic source and are sterile triploid plants, virtually identical. But that is another story. Now for the pics.

You can't beat that saturated red!










The flowers remind me of deciduous azaleas. What do you think?






Much less common are these "alba" forms, more yellow than white to my eyes.






The river valley's name is _Inonaki_ meaning "dog barking". The mountain pass just above is famous for a female ghost that was killed years ago during one of Japan's many internal wars and she to this day is respected and feared by people all over this region. This part of the river is bordered by a moso bamboo grove, another import from China and typical of lowland hillsides and bases of higher mountains of southern Japan.









We finished the day in proper American style by BBQing these big, fat rib-eye steaks. Yummy (if you're not vegetarian).


----------



## etex (Oct 6, 2010)

Yummy- the steaks look great-I'll bet they were delicious!!

Our Naked Ladies are blooming here. Super cool blooms-they remind me of azaleas,too! I love the way they reproduce bulbs like crazy and are great naturalizers.

And great landscape photos. That bamboo is something else!! Thanks for sharing your great photos!


----------



## hardy (Oct 6, 2010)

Yes, they look somewhat like azaleas  Those are nice! 
Huh, so they're sprouting in fall? Isn't the winter quite cold in Japan?
Thanks for sharing, looks like a fun excursion


----------



## Shiva (Oct 6, 2010)

Beautiful Tom! And those steaks looks great too. :drool:


----------



## goldenrose (Oct 6, 2010)

Such beautiful scenery! :drool::drool:


----------



## JeanLux (Oct 6, 2010)

Oh my .., that's red :drool: !!! I am not sure I have seen azaleas that red ! Quite relaxing to look at those bambou truncs ( and the steaks of course) after the red shock ! Jean


----------



## NYEric (Oct 6, 2010)

Where!?!?:drool:



KyushuCalanthe said:


> The mountain pass just above is famous for a female ghost that was killed years ago during one of Japan's many internal wars and she to this day is respected and feared by people all over this region.


 Sounds like something out of _Inuyasha_!

Thanx for sharing, I'm sure sometime ago planting them was part of some regional gov't project that everyone forgot about.


----------



## Jorch (Oct 6, 2010)

Thanks for sharing!! Love the fiery lilies and the steaks looks yummy!! :drool:


----------



## Hera (Oct 6, 2010)

:drool::drool::drool::drool::drool:

Did someone say steak!!!

Oh yeah, the flowers are beautiful and they do look like deciduous azaleas.


----------



## SlipperFan (Oct 6, 2010)

To me, the flowers look too lacy for azaleas, and the plants are not like them either. But I would be entirely captivated by them if there was a place like that around here!


----------



## Pete (Oct 7, 2010)

nice pics. thanks!


----------



## Clark (Oct 7, 2010)

Naked ladies + grilled ribeyes= excessive drool.


----------



## Kevin (Oct 8, 2010)

Wow! Thanks tom for these pics. I always enjoy seeing your pics. I can see the resemblance to Azaleas. Those bamboos are wild too! 

I'm just curious about what you said about these plants not being able to propogate by seed - how are they able to survive in the native habitat if they don't propogate by seed? Or do you mean that they can't reproduce by seed in Japan, since the required pollinator isn't there?


----------



## rdlsreno (Oct 8, 2010)

*I Hungry!!!!!!!!!!*:drool::drool::drool::drool::drool:

Ramon


----------



## KyushuCalanthe (Oct 8, 2010)

Glad you liked the shots  The steaks, such a common thing in the states, are quite uncommon here - at least that style, thickness, and cooking technique. Japan is still a long way away from the US in terms of culture.



hardy said:


> Huh, so they're sprouting in fall? Isn't the winter quite cold in Japan



Actually, it isn't very cold here in southern Japan, maybe like Atlanta, Georgia on average but never colder than -5 C even in the depths of winter. This species is summer dormant, blooms in early fall, and grows in winter and early spring - that is the typical pattern for all Lycoris species.



NYEric said:


> Where!?!?:drool:
> 
> Sounds like something out of _Inuyasha_!
> 
> Thanx for sharing, I'm sure sometime ago planting them was part of some regional gov't project that everyone forgot about.



Lots of ghost stories in Japan. This one is just our local "girl". Apparently she was burned to death....as for the flowers, they were brought here from China hundreds of years ago and distributed by human hands.



SlipperFan said:


> To me, the flowers look too lacy for azaleas, and the plants are not like them either. But I would be entirely captivated by them if there was a place like that around here!



Dot, the flowers remind me of some of the southern deciduous azaleas such as Rhododendron cumberlandense and R. prunifolium. I think it is the long arching stamens, trusses, and deep red color that reminds of them. 



Kevin said:


> I'm just curious about what you said about these plants not being able to propogate by seed - how are they able to survive in the native habitat if they don't propogate by seed? Or do you mean that they can't reproduce by seed in Japan, since the required pollinator isn't there?



They are have been tested both in Japan and Korea and been found to be sterile triploids of common heritage. That means the only way they got around was by human hands. The only place you'll see them in Japan is directly adjacent to rice patties. The story goes that in ancient times they were planted to deter rodents from eating the rice - the bulbs are highly poisonous and so were a sort of rat bait...or so it is supposed. Many "species" in the genus Lycoris have strange biology, especially sterility. Apparently humans have had a lot to do with their success and present distribution.


----------



## hardy (Oct 8, 2010)

Ah, I see. I've never heard of that, it's so interesting thet they don't grow in summer yet prefer the cold winter temperatures.  Thanks


----------



## Lanmark (Oct 8, 2010)

Gorgeous flowers! Awesome steaks! :drool:


----------

