They are all native to South America, although some have become naturalized in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Madeira and the Canary Islands.

They come in many shades of red, orange, yellow, green, purple, pink, and white, flecked and striped and streaked with darker colors.

Alstroemeria are classified as an inferior monocot, meaning the petals are located above the ovary and the leaf veins are parallel.

[5] In Chile, Alstroemeria is amongst the most diverse genera of vascular monocotyledons, with more than 50 recognized or accepted taxa (species, subspecies and varieties).

[6] The genus was described by Johan Peter Falk and his thesis supervisor Carl Linnaeus in his 1762 dissertation Planta Alströmeria.

Many hybrids and at least 190 cultivars have been developed, featuring many markings and colors, including white, yellow, orange, apricot, pink, red, purple, and lavender.

This strategy has overcome the florists' problem of seasonal dormancy and resulted in plants that are evergreen, or nearly so, and flower for most of the year.