Flowers are large and showy, zygomorphic, with the stamens in varying lengths, inflorescence bracts are often fused basally (along one side).

[2][3] Meerow et al. (1999) provide a history of the treatment of the genera of Amaryllidaceae, including Hippeastreae, from the mid-twentieth century.

[8] Consequently, it has been customary to describe the tribe Hippeastreae as consisting of two subtribes: In the study of Meerow et al. (2000) based on molecular markers Zephyranthinae (Zephyranthae of Traub)[6] were clearly polyphyletic, largely due to the polyphyly of Zephyranthes itself.

[5][10] A more focused study of Hippeastreae alone in 2014, resolved two major clades:[5][10] However it also showed that of the 13 genera, two are monotypic (Haylockia and Traubia).

Consequently, the authors proposed the following nomenclature:[5][10] A major generic recircumscription was published in 2019, although the basic subdivision into the two above subtribes remained unchanged.

[1] Subtribe Traubiinae D. & U. Müll.-Doblies (Clade A) includes about 20 endemic Chilean taxa, but only about 10% of the species within tribe Hippeastreae.

[5][10] As of March 2022[update], the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (APweb) accepted only six genera in the tribe Hippeastrae:[12] shown here as amended by Garcia et al 2019.

[1] Genera that have been synonymized with other genera in the tribe according to APweb include:[12] Hippeastreae have a major center of diversification in central Chile and western (Andean) Argentina, together with minor centres in eastern Brazil, the north east of Argentina and with more distant centers in Mexico, the Greater Antilles and southern United States (Habranthus, Zephyranthes).