1. Petals of Jersey lily, cover with brandy, add a little camphor and leave in a screw-top jar for about a month; it was used here … in the old days to treat bad cuts by take one leaf and putting it over the wound, it stings but works [St Lawrence, Jersey, April 1993].

2. My mother’s forebears were of Kent origin and she seemed to be steeped in superstition!! … It was supposedly unlucky to bring what we call pink belladonna lilies (Amaryllis), also known, I believe, as naked ladies, into the house. These can have a rather overpowering perfume [Nicholson, Victoria, Australia, July 1983].

Images: main, cultivated, Walled Garden, Brockwell Park, London Borough of Lambeth, August 2015; inset, cultivated, University of Bath campus, Somerset, August 2014.