Family: Amaryllidaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Urceolina amazonica, commonly known as Amazon lily or Eucharist lily, is a tropical plant native to the rainforests of northern South America, particularly the Amazon Basin. It is a bulb-forming perennial prized for its lush, dark green leaves and elegant, fragrant white flowers that resemble daffodils. The blooms typically appear in clusters on tall stems and are especially valued for their sweet scent and long-lasting beauty. Because of its striking appearance, Amazon lily is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, often grown indoors as a houseplant or outdoors in shaded tropical gardens. It is also popular in floral arrangements and has cultural significance in some regions for use in ceremonial decorations.

Risks & Threats
Amazon lily is considered a low-risk species and is not known to be invasive in Hawaiʻi or other tropical regions. It reproduces slowly through bulbs and generally requires specific conditions—such as consistent moisture, rich soil, and shade—to thrive, which limits its ability to spread aggressively. There are no significant reports of it displacing native vegetation or disrupting ecosystems. However, as with many ornamental plants, proper garden management is recommended to prevent unintended spread, especially in favorable environments. Overall, it is regarded as a safe and attractive addition to gardens when grown responsibly.

High Risk Traits:

• Thrives in tropical climates
  
• Naturalized, and/or adventive in Puerto Rico and the West Indies
  
• Demonstrates allelopathic properties in laboratory settings
  
• Toxic to house pest if ingested
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Geophyte (able to resprout from underground bulbs)
  
• Propagated, and possibly spread, by vegetative offsets

Low Risk Traits:

• Widely cultivated, with no reports of invasiveness or negative impacts within introduced range
  
• Unarmed (no spines, thorns or burrs)
  
• Ornamental
  
• Possibly sterile in cultivation
  
• Requires specialized pollinators (long-tongued moths)
  
• Self-incompatible
  
• Limited, to no, seed production makes inadvertent dispersal unlikely