I took this picture of a 18″ tall red flowering plant with thick stalk but thin cluster of red flowers. There were around 9 stalks on this hillside next to his house in Chester South Carolina. Really beautiful.
Hi Marty,
this is a beautiful introduced plant called Lycoris radiata, sometimes called Surprise lily, that flowers when the plant has no leaves. It is closely related to the Amaryllis.
More details can be found here: http://botanyboy.org/lycoris-radiata-japans-red-spider-lily/
I hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Steven R. Hill, Ph.D., Botanist, SCNPS