William Herbert: The Dean Who Renamed Your Christmas Bulbs

Amaryllis, or more specifically, it belongs to the genus Hippeastrum, sometimes referred to as the Striped Barbados Lily (Hippeastrum striatum).

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 28, 1847 Today marks the departure of William Herbert from our mortal garden—a man whose taxonomic meddling continues to vex gardeners nearly two centuries hence. This distinguished botanist, scholar, poet, and clergyman—who…

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May 28, 2019 Unkind Garden Advice, William Herbert, Hippeastrum, Carl Richard Nyberg, Amaryllis and Alteo, Amaryllis Poem, Minta Collins, Medieval Herbs, Exposed Tree Roots and the Wentworth Lilacs of New Hampshire

The Daily Gardener Podcast Album Cover with a pot of rosemary - the herb for remembrance - beckoning gardeners to remember to listen to the show. Updated September 2025.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee  Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community Monologue Gardeners. Horticultural experts. Professors, even. On the garden path, you can, from time to time, run into people who decimate you faster than a Japanese Beetle…

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