Zephyranthes candida: Rain Lily

Family: Amaryllidaceae
Common name: Autumn zephyrlily, White windflower, Peruvian swamp lily, Rain lily

This scraggly plant with it’s thin unruly leaves, looks quite unimpressive, till it bursts into gorgeous white flowers by the dozen. It’s also called rain lily because the flowers usually bloom after rains. The flowers bloom on thin shafts which look like leaves until it open out into a pristine white lily. Autumn Zephyrlilies grown best in full or partial sunlight. Lilies are not indoor plants, though it can grown on sunny windowsills.

There are over a 1000 species in this family of Amaryllidaceae. Some variants of Zephyranthes Candida have pink, red or yellow flowers. This plant has significant medical properties and is used in traditional Chinese medicine as an antipyretic, and to relieve insomnia, headache, and even epilepsy.

Propagation is by splitting the plant bulbs at the root and replanting them.

Photo Courtesy: love4gardening.com

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