Lycoris radiata (L’Hér.) Herb.

Botanical classification

Lycoris radiata (L’Hér.) Herb.

Order:

Asparagales

Family:

Amaryllidaceae

Synonyms:

Amaryllis radiata L’Hér.

Plant growing area

Afghanistan, northern Burma, China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang), eastern Iran, Japan, southern Korea, northern Laos, Nepal, northern Pakistan, northern Thailand, northern Vietnam.

Grows from the sea level to 1000-2500 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Lycoris radiata is a bulbous perennial plant of 30 to70 centimeters high. The plants form dark clumps along the edges of paddy fields or stream banks. It flowers in late summer or automn before the leaves appear. The flowers are red and grow in umbels; they are hermaphrodite.

Lycoris radiata is subject to frost, it appreciates well-drained soil and half shade.

Lycoris are traditionally grown for a long time and many "species" are in fact ancient hybrids and horticultural varieties.

Ten alkaloids were isolated from the bulbs of Lycoris radiata. The bulbs are poisonous and must be leached before they are used for food. They are used for their emetic and expectorant properties.

A mucilage is extracted from the roots and the stem which is used as formation aid in paper making. This viscous material is added to the pulp to increase its viscosity and thus delay the settling of fibers in the tank. In addition, the mucilage allows a better dispersion of the long fibers.

China:

Because the plant blooms without leaves, flowers are red, and it often grows near graveyards, it is associated with death. It is described in the Lotus Sutra as grim flower that grows in Diyu (Hell) and guides the dead into the next reincarnation.

Japan:

In Japan the Red Spider Lily is associated with the arrival of automn and the ceremony of ancestors in the buddhist tradition. It is planted on graves since the plant, as in China, has correlation with death. The Japanese name means “the other shore flower”, other shore being Nirvana. It is believed that the souls are guided by the flowers to paradise.

The plant is connected with Chinese legends and has so many gloomy nicknames, that it is also called "the flower with six hundred names."

Korea:

The stem was used in Korea to produce a mucilage before the adoption in the early 19th century of Hibiscus manihot which replaced all other formation aids.

But because of its toxicity, it is rarely used.

Preparation process for making paper

The plant is cultivated. Bulbs should be planted in the spring. They should be divided every 7 years, six weeks after the desiccation of the leaves.

Vernacular names

Chinese

Shi suan	石蒜

Japanese

Higan bana	ヒガンバナ

Korean

Seoksan	석산/꽃무릇	Kkonmureut

French

Lycoris

English

Hurricane lily
Naked Lily
Red Spider Lily
Spider Lily

Used part of the plant:

Stem

Root

Use for paper making:

Formation aid

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Lycoris radiata (L’Hér.) Herb.

Lycoris radiata (L’Hér.) Herb.