Pyrolirion, commonly known as fire lilies or flame lilies,Pyrolirion fire lily. (n.d.). Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/160769/pyrolirion/details is a small genus of herbaceous, bulbous South American plants in the Amaryllis family, native to Chile, Peru, Bolivia,Herbert, William 1821. Appendix to Botanical Register, page 37Missouri Botanical Garden. (n.d.-af). Pyrolirion Herb. Tropicos. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from https://www.tropicos.org/name/40021379 and Ecuador.Oleas, N. H., Jost, L., Zambrano, R., Torres, C. G., Heredia, J., Bustamante, M., ... & Quintana, C. (2025). First records of the genus Pyrolirion Herb.(Liliopsida, Asparagales, Amaryllidaceae) in Ecuador. Check List, 21(1), 142-147.
Description Vegetative characteristics Pyrolirion are bulbous,Rand, E. S. (1873). Bulbs: A Treatise on Hardy and Tender Bulbs and Tubers. p. 210. USA: Shepard and Gill. herbsPyrolirion. (n.d.). Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from https://eol.org/pages/30182 with tunicate bulbsLemaire, C. A. (1854). Le Jardin fleuriste: journal général des progrés et des intérets horticoles et botaniques .... Belgien: F. et E. Gyselynck. and slim, annual, linear to linear-lanceolate leaves. The bulbs produce offsets. Generative characteristics The white,Howard, T. M. (2010). Bulbs for Warm Climates. p. 128. Deutschland: University of Texas Press. orange or yellow flowersHenderson, P. (1881). Handbook of Plants and General Horticulture. p. 182. USA: (n.p.). are borne erect on solitary hollow scapes. The perigone is funnel-shaped, with a cylindrical tube that flares out abruptly into star-like radially arranged (actinomorphic) petals. Small scale-like "paraperigone" may be present at the base. The flower has 6 tepals.Kosteletzky, V. F. (1831). Allgemeine medizinisch-pharmazeutische Flora, enthaltend die systematische Aufzählung und Beschreibung sämmtlicher bis jetzt bekannt gewordenen Gewächse aller Welttheile in ihrer Beziehung auf Diätetik, Therapie und Pharmazie nach den natürlichen Familien des Gewächsreiches geordnet. p. 143. Deutschland: Hoff. The androecium consists of 6 stamens.Sweet, R., Don, G. (1839). Hortus Britannicus. p. 675. Vereinigtes Königreich: J. Ridgway. The stamens arise from or below the throat. The gynoecium consists of 3 carpels. The style has three branches at the tip with spoon-shaped (spatulate) stigmas. The capsule fruit bears discoid,Just's botanischer jahresbericht: Systematisch geordnetes repertorium der botanischen literatur aller länder. p. 21. (1882). Deutschland: Gebr. Borntraeger. compressed, black seeds with a white raphe. Cytology Various chromosome counts have been reported: 2n = 26, 34, 51, 54.
Taxonomy The genus Pyrolirion was first established by the British botanist William Herbert in 1837. The name Pyrolirion is from Greek πῦρ (pyr, "fire") and λείριον (leirion, "lily"). It is named after the flame-like colors of the flowers of Pyrolirion arvense (the golden flame lily).
Pyrolirion is classified under the tribe Eustephieae of the subfamily Amaryllidoideae, family Amaryllidaceae. It was previously sometimes considered by some authors as a subgenus of Zephyranthes (rain lilies), but DNA sequencing has shown that it is a distinct genus more closely related to the genera Chlidanthus, Eustephia, and Hieronymiella in the tribe Eustephieae than to members of the tribe Hippeastreae.
Species The species-level classification of Pyrolirion is unclear and in need of further study. The following are accepted at present (April 2015) Pyrolirion albicans Herb. – Peru (Arequipa) Pyrolirion arvense (F.Dietr.) – Peru (Cusco, Lima) Pyrolirion boliviense (Baker) Sealy – Bolivia (Cochabamba, La Paz) Pyrolirion cutleri (Cárdenas) Ravenna – Bolivia (Cochabamba) Pyrolirion flavum Herb. – Peru (Cusco, Lima) Pyrolirion huantae Ravenna – Peru Pyrolirion tarahuasicum Ravenna – Peru Pyrolirion tubiflorum (L'Hér.) M.Roem. – Peru, Chile, Ecuador
Cultivation It is not widely cultivated.Cowley, J. (1989). 127. Pyrolirion tubiflorum: Amaryllidaceae. The Kew Magazine, 6(3), 95-101. It requires a period of dormancy in winter.
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