Narrative
Hippeastrum x hybridum ‘Plum Wine’ is a moderately tall growing bulbous periennial. Bulbs are 5-6 cm diam, increasing to 8 to 11 cm with age, producing two to three offset bulbs per year. Leaves are dark green, strap-shaped, 4-6 per bulb, 60 to 68 cm long, 4.5-6 cm at the middle. Scapes are 45 to 55 cm tall, ca. 1.5 cm diam, 2-3 per bulb, bearing 4-6 flowers each; pedicels are 7.5 to 9.5 cm long. Flowers are semi-trumpet shaped, slightly nodding, 15-16 cm long, 12-13.5 cm wide laterally, 14-16 cm wide dorsal-ventrally. The six tepals are undulate along their margins, of medium texture, appear luminous and crystalline, the adaxial surface boldly striated RHS red-purple 61B on a white background, most prominently on the lateral inner tepals, with a picotee of the same color, and a green throat. The reverse (abaxial) surface is more deeply colored along the tepal keels, and suffused green in their lower half. There is no apparent paraperigone. The lateral outer tepals are 13-14.5 cm long, 6-6.5 cm wide at their broadest point; the dorsal outer tepals is 12.5-14 cm long, 6.3-6.8 cm wide; inner lateral tepals are 12.5-14 cm long, 5-6 cm wide, and the ventral inner tepal is 13-14.5 cm long, 4-4.7 cm wide. Stamens are 9.5-11 cm long, white for most of length, green in the proximal 4 cm; anthers are elliptic, ca. 8 mm long, RHS white 155B; pollen color is pale yellow. The style is 13.5-14 cm long, white for most of length, green in the proximal 5 cm; the tri-lobed white stigma is ca. 8 mm wide. This is a primary F-1 hybrid of H. papilio and H. brasilianum.