Hippeastrum calyptratum is a flowering perennial herbaceous bulbous plant, in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to Brazil.
Description This species has an approximately 7.5 cm wide, globose bulb, which is enclosed in persistent, brown leaf bases. The bulbs bear 5-6, approximately 45 – 60 cm long, 5 cm wide, light green leaves. The green flowers are produced in autumn on 2-3 flowered umbels, which are supported by terete, green, about 60 cm long, and about 1.3 - 1.9 cm wide peduncles.Baker, J. G. (1888). "Handbook of the Amaryllideae, including the Alstroemerieae and Agaveae." p. 47. G. Bell. Semi-discoid, flattened seeds are produced in globose-compressed capsule fruits.Hippeastrum calyptratum (Ker Gawl.) Herb. (n.d.). Reflora - Flora E Funga Do Brasil. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB4359
Conservation This species is probably threatened by extinction, however not enough data is currently available on its distribution, and thus the proposed IUCN conservation Status is Data Deficient (DD).Alves, F. E., & Menini Neto, L. (2014). "Vascular epiphytes in a forest fragment of Serra da Mantiqueira and floristic relationships with Atlantic high altitude areas in Minas Gerais." Brazilian Journal of Botany, 37(2), 187-196.
Ecology The flowers are pollinated by bat species.Meerow, A. W., Reed, S. T., Dunn, C., & Schnell, E. (2017). "Fragrance analysis of two scented Hippeastrum species." HortScience, 52(12), 1853-1860. It occurs in humid Atlantic Rainforest at elevations of 1200 m above sea level growing epiphytically on mossy trees or as a lithophyte on rocks.
Cytology The diploid chromosome count of this species is 2n = 22.Escales, R. (1950). "Diseases and Cytology of the Amaryllids."
Physiology Several crinine-type alkaloids have been isolated from tissue of this species.de Andrade, J.P., Guo, Y., Font‐Bardia, M., Calvet, T., Dutilh, J., Viladomat, F., Codina, C., Nair, J.J., Zuanazzi, J.Â., & Bastida, J. (2014). "Crinine-type alkaloids from Hippeastrum aulicum and H. calyptratum." Phytochemistry, 103, 188-195 . The floral scent, which has been described as stale, sour, fermented, or similar to burnt plastic is composed of the following compounds: 1,8-cineole, perillene, camphor, linalool, limonene, g-terpinene, b-myrcene, sabinene, a-pinene, d-3-carene, and 3-hexanone.
Taxonomy This species was first described under the name Amaryllis calyptrata by John Bellenden Ker Gawler (Ker Gawl.) in 1817. Later it was transferred to the genus Hippeastrum under the name Hippeastrum calyptratum by William Herbert (Herb.) in 1821.
Etymology The specific epithet calyptratum is derived from the Latin calyptratum meaning "bearing a calyptra" or the Greek kalypto, kalyptra meaning "to hide" or "veil".Quattrocchi, U. (1999). "CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology." p. 2121. Taylor & Francis.
Cultivation The cultivation is thought to be difficult by some growers unfamiliar with the specific needs of epiphytes. In contrast to other members of the genus, the substrate should be coarse, aerated, and well drained for this species.Hippeastrum calyptratum | Pacific Bulb Society. (n.d.). https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Hippeastrum_calyptratum
References
Sources
GBIF:Hippeastrum calyptratum