The plant with the scientific name Alstroemeria patagónica is known as amancay.
The notion of amancay comes from the Quechua word amánkay , which can be translated as “lily.” The term is used to name different species of vegetables that look like lilies .
It is interesting to mention that the concept is used in the naming of plants of various genera. That is why the amancayes can be quite different from each other.
Amancayes of the genus Plumeria
Before moving forward, it must be taken into account that the way plants are referred to depends on each region. In different areas, for example, the shrub with the scientific name Plumeria rubra is called amancay.
This amancay, also mentioned as cacalosúchil , frangipani , frangipán , poppy , wild wallflower , crow's flower , sacuanjoche , magno jasmine , suchi or May flower , usually measures about five meters and has purple, pinkish or yellowish flowers that stand out for their scent .
Plumeria alba is called amancay , white wallflower , white lily , carachuchi , caracucha , tabeiba or tabaiba . In this case, it is an ornamental tree whose latex is used for medicinal purposes and its wood is used as fuel .
Amancay is one of the common names of Plumeria alba.
Patagonian plants
Alstroemeria patagónica , which grows in southern Argentina and Chile , is known as yellow lily , desert amancay or simply amancay . It measures about one and a half meters and produces a single orange or yellow flower .
Alstroemeria aurea , meanwhile, is the golden amancay . It reaches a height lower than the desert amancay and its flowers are orange and yellow with red spots.
The legend of Amancay
In Argentine Patagonia , especially in the city of Bariloche , there is a legend that revolves around a young woman named Amancay . According to history , this humble girl was in love with Quintral , a descendant of the chief of her tribe. Due to social differences, the link between the two was impossible.
When an epidemic began to decimate the population, Quintral also became ill. Desperate, Amancay turned to a machi (that is, a shaman) and she told her to look for a yellow flower on the top of a mountain in order to save Quintral .
Amancay , in this way, climbed until he reached the flower, which he plucked. Faced with this situation, a divinity who guarded the mountain appeared and demanded that he return it. Amancay proposed a deal: she would give him her heart if the gods saved Quintral . With the pact accepted, the guardian of the mountain took the young woman's heart; From each drop that fell from it, the legend indicates, a new yellow flower sprouted.
Therefore, today, the amancay flower symbolizes love . It is said that whoever gives an amancay, gives their heart with it.
a woman's name
Amancay is a name that, beyond the Patagonian legend, many South American women carry. We can refer, in this framework, to the Argentine soccer player Amancay Urbani .
This striker from Santa Fe played in the 2019 World Cup and has played for European teams such as Deportivo Alavés and Osasuna Femenino .
We also find the term Amancay in multiple businesses, clubs and places. In the Argentine province of Córdoba , to mention one place, Villa Amancay is a commune in the Calamuchita Valley that has about three hundred inhabitants.