A plant of the lily family with white or pink flowers, native to the southeastern United States and West Indies.
The word comes from a Native American language, possibly from the Powhatan people of Virginia. It entered English in the 18th century as colonial botanists catalogued New World flora, preserving indigenous plant names.
The atamasco lily was so striking to early European colonists that they made sure to preserve its original Native American name rather than give it a European one—which is actually rare and shows how impressed they were by this beautiful flower.
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