Amaryllis belladonna pink flowers which may be up to 10 cm in length, appear in the autumn before the leaves (hysteranthy) which are narrow and strap shaped. "Amaryllis belladonna" is one of the two species in the genus "Amaryllis" as currently circumscribed. "Belladonna" is a Latin epithet meaning beautiful lady. There are many common names around the world, for instance in the Azores, Portugal one name is "Meninas Para Escola" (girls going to school) referring to the flowers blooming when the girls in their pink uniforms are starting the new school year. In South Africa the plants are found growing among rocks.
Atropa belladonna are green, ripening to a shiny-black, and approximately in diameter. The berries are sweet and are consumed by animals that disperse the seeds in their droppings, even though they contain toxic alkaloids. (See "Toxicity") There is a pale-yellow flowering form called "Atropa belladonna" var. "lutea" with pale yellow fruit. "Atropa belladonna" is native to temperate southern, Central and Eastern Europe; North Africa, Turkey, Iran and the Caucasus, but has been cultivated and introduced outside its native range. In southern Sweden it was recorded in Flora of Skåne in 1870 as grown in apothecary gardens near Malmö. In Britain it is