These collections were transported to Vienna by Nicolas Thomas Baudin, who had been carefully briefed by Boos on the techniques used for keeping plants and animals alive on long ship voyages.

It belongs to the family Amaryllidaceae (subfamily Amaryllidoideae) and its specific name shows that Jacquin felt it resembled an Amaryllis.

H. amarylloides is usually found in seasonally-inundated hollows at about 600 m elevation, between Springbok and Grootvlei in Namaqualand, and along the Bokkeveld Mountains escarpment to Gifberg near Vanrhynsdorp.

Slight differences between the Gifberg and Vanrhyns Pass populations, support the notion of two subspecies for now, but finding intermediate forms may revert the taxon to a single, variable species.

The name "Haemanthus amarylloides" was repeatedly applied in error to specimens of a similar-looking species from the summer rainfall region.