I. amancaes is a species with spherical bulbs 3.5–5 cm in diameter.[4][5] The leaves are strap-shaped, 25–50 cm long and 2.5–5 cm wide, bright green.[4][5] The 2–6 yellow pedicellate flowers are borne at the end of a scape up to 33 cm long.[4] The floral tube is greenish yellow, 5–7.5 cm long, bearing at the end the tepals, which are linear to narrowly lanceolate, 6–7.5 cm long, with green tips.[4][6] The floral corona is funnel-shaped, yellow with green stripes, 5–6 cm long, 6–8.5 cm wide, bearing the stamens facing inwards.[4][6][5]
Distribution and habitat
Endemic to Peru, Ismene amancaes inhabits coastal hills up to 1500 m of elevation, especially near the city of Lima, as part of the lomas ecosystem.[6][7][5][8]
Remains of I. amancaes have been found in archaeological sites near the city of Lima.[11]
The flowering of this species was the subject of a festival ("Festival de Amancaise") celebrated in June in Lima, until the first half of the 1800s.[12] In a place among the hills surrounding Lima, people from the city gathered annually to celebrate the flowering of the plant in a festival with music and dance, similar to May Day.[12] The festival attracted people from all classes of the society then, while a common sight was people sporting the flowers in their garments.[12]
^Suni, Mery; Pascual, Edisson; Jara, Enoc (2011). "Desarrollo reproductivo del "amancay" Ismene amancaes (Amaryllidaceae) en su ambiente natural". Revista Peruana de Biología (in Spanish). 18 (3): 293–297. doi:10.15381/rpb.v18i3.440.
^Soto, Marilú; Leiva, Milagros (2015). "Estudio exomorfológico y fitoquímico de los bulbos de dos especies endémicas del Perú de la familia Amaryllidaceae". Arnaldoa (in Spanish). 22 (1): 269–288.
^ abcdeCullen, James; Knees, Sabina G.; Cubey, H. Suzanne; Shaw, J. M. H. (2011). The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521761475.
^ abcdWeathers, John (1911). The Bulb Book. Applewood Books. p. 284. ISBN9781429013772.
^ abcFrancis, Macbride, J. (1936). "Flora of Peru /". Fieldiana. v.13:pt.1:no.3: 671.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Goodall, David W. (2014). Evolution of Desert Biota. University of Texas Press. p. 17. ISBN9780292740990.