An Amaryllis for Advent

What's in a name? A great deal, indeed.

There can be no manner of doubt a name is more easily remembered when its meaning is understood.  -A.J. Macself, from the Foreword, "Plant Names Simplified"

Twinkle lights on last year’s birdfeeder. Not an amaryllis. Obvs.

I forgot to plant my amaryllis bulb the week of All Hallow's Eve. The teacher in me loves the object lesson, how planting a crinkly, brown bulb with antenna-like roots can be an illustration of patience and waiting during the Advent and Christmas season.

But I was too busy to remember.

So, I potted the inglorious bulb the other day after soaking the accompanying ground-up coconut shreds in warm water, watching them miraculously expand and nearly overtake my 32-ounce glass measuring cup. Amaryllis duly snugged into plastic container, I pondered something while I cleaned up the mess in my sink.

What does 'amaryllis' mean, anyway? 

I'm fond of learning the Latin for plant names, shrubs and trees. As an amateur gardener, I pride myself on the pronunciation and meaning of the various denizens of my yard and garden. And some of the names are not Latin at all, but simply named for people or a place.

Amaryllis. Well. I went to the bookshelf and took down my slim green volume of "Plant Names Simplified--Their Meanings and Pronunciation," (A.T. Johnson, 1931, W.H. & L Collingridge, U.K.)

Of the two names given to each plant, the first, which may be likened to our surname (or first name) is the generic, or group name. This can occur only once, as a group name, but the second, the specific (or species) name is only given to one plant of the same genus, as is a Christian name in a family, and may occur in many different genera. (From the Introduction).

The elegant amaryllis, I discovered, has only one name and is neither Greek nor Latin, but a "classical name after that of a shepherdess in Theocritus and Virgil, Greek and Latin poets." I was pleased to find this entry as I'm an aspiring poet. I also was taken by the fact that the nomenclature hails from a particular shepherdess. The final bloom of an amaryllis can nearly be equated with the crook of a shepherd's staff, I suppose. And, there is the occasion of planting an amaryllis, during that season that precedes the birth of Jesus, our Shepherd.

Well, and the name “Mary” is in there, too.

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I think about the name Christian, which "occurs in many different genera." 'Genera' is, of course, the root word of generate and generations. I think about the generations of Jesus that have continued for hundreds of years, beginning with the first root of our family, that stump of Jesse-Jesus.

Jesus. The name above every other name.

The Light that is coming in the dark days of Winter, when we need it most.

Forever and ever. Amen.