| Gloriosa superba | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Colchicaceae |
| Genus: | Gloriosa |
| Species: | G. superba |
| Binomial name | |
| Gloriosa superba | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
List
| |
Gloriosa superba is a species of flowering plant in the family Colchicaceae. Common names include flame lily, climbing lily, creeping lily, glory lily, [3] gloriosa lily, tiger claw, [4] and fire lily. [5]
This herbaceous perennial grows from a fleshy rhizome. [6] It is scandent, climbing using modified leaf-tip tendrils, the stem reaching 4 m (13 ft) long. [7] The leaves are mainly alternately arranged, but they may be opposite, as well. They are somewhat lance-shaped and tipped with tendrils, and they are up 13 to 20 cm (5.1 to 7.9 in) long. [6] [8] The showy flower has six tepals each up to 5 to 7.6 cm (2.0 to 3.0 in) long. [6] [9] They are generally bright red [6] to orange [8] at maturity, sometimes with yellowish bases. The margins may be quite wavy. The six stamens also are long, up to 4 cm (1.6 in), and each bears a large anther at the tip that drops large amounts of yellow pollen.
The style may be more than 6 cm (2.4 in) long. One flower may weigh over 2.5 g (0.09 oz). [10] The fruit is a fleshy capsule up to 6 to 12 cm (2.4 to 4.7 in) long [7] [11] containing red seeds. [6] [8] Cultivars of this popular garden plant may vary from these wild-type characteristics; the cultivar 'Lutea' has all-yellow tepals, 'Citrina' is yellow with red markings, and 'Nana' is a dwarf. [4] Whitish forms are also known. [11]
Gloriosa superba is native to much of Africa, except North Africa. It is native to much of tropical Asia including the Indian subcontinent and mainland and maritime Southeast Asia. It is also native to south-central China. [2]
The species has been introduced to eastern Australia (New South Wales and Queensland), Alabama in the United States, Suriname, parts of the Caribbean, and various Pacific Islands. [2] [5]
The plant likely is pollinated by butterflies and sunbirds. [7] It grows in many types of habitat, including tropical jungles, [4] forests, thickets, [6] woodlands, grasslands, and sand dunes. [7] It can grow in nutrient-poor soils.[ citation needed ] It can be found at as high as 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in elevation. [7]
This plant is poisonous, and toxic enough to cause human and animal fatalities if ingested. It has been used to commit murder, to achieve suicide, [11] and to kill animals. [7] Every part of the plant is poisonous, especially the tuberous rhizomes. As with other members of the Colchicaceae, this plant contains high levels of colchicine, a toxic alkaloid. It also contains the alkaloid gloriocine. Within a few hours of the ingestion of a toxic amount of plant material, a victim may experience nausea, vomiting, numbness, tingling around the mouth, burning in the throat, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhea, which leads to dehydration.[ citation needed ] As the toxic syndrome progresses, rhabdomyolysis, ileus, [11] respiratory depression, hypotension, coagulopathy, haematuria, altered mental status, seizures, coma, and ascending polyneuropathy may occur.[ citation needed ] Longer-term effects include peeling of the skin and prolonged vaginal bleeding in women. [11] Colchicine is known to cause alopecia. One case report described a patient who accidentally ate the tubers and then experienced hair loss over her entire body, including complete baldness. [12] Poisonings can occur when the tubers are mistaken for sweet potatoes [11] or yams and eaten. [12] The plant can be dangerous for cats, dogs, horses, [13] and livestock, [14] as well.
The alkaloid-rich plant has long been used as a traditional medicine in many cultures. It has been used in the treatment of gout, infertility, open wounds, snakebite, ulcers, arthritis, cholera, colic, kidney problems, typhus, [7] itching, leprosy, [9] bruises, sprains, hemorrhoids, cancer, impotence, nocturnal emission,[ citation needed ] smallpox, sexually transmitted diseases, and many types of internal parasites. [14] It is an anthelmintic.[ citation needed ] It has been used as a laxative and an alexiteric. [9] The sap is used to treat acne and head lice.[ citation needed ] In a pregnant woman, it may cause abortion. [9] [14] [7] In parts of India, extracts of the rhizome are applied topically during childbirth to reduce labor pain.[ citation needed ]
Other uses for this plant include arrow poison in Nigeria [14] and snake repellent in India. [11] Some cultures consider it to be magical.[ citation needed ] The flowers are part of religious rituals. [11]
This species is the national flower of Zimbabwe. [7] [15] [16] [17] [18] In 1947, Queen Elizabeth II received a diamond brooch in the shape of this flower for her twenty-first birthday while traveling in Rhodesia, now called Zimbabwe. [19]
In Tamil, this flower is commonly known as Karthigaipoo (கார்த்திகைப்பூ) because it grows during the Tamil month of Karthigai (November–December). It is the state flower of Tamil Nadu state in India. [20] It was also designated as the national flower of the de facto state of Tamil Eelam by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), because it contains all the colours contained in the Tamil Eelam national flag and because it grows during November, coinciding with Maaveerar Naal. [21]
The plant can be propagated sexually by seed or vegetatively by dividing the rhizome. Problems during cultivation include inadequate pollination, fungal diseases such as leaf blight and tuber rot, and crop pests such as the moths Polytela gloriosa and Chrysodeixis chalcites . [14] It is also a crop that is slow to propagate; each split tuber produces only one extra plant in a year's time. In vitro experiments with plant tissue culture have been performed,[ citation needed ] and some increased the yield. [22]
Both the fruit and the rhizome are harvested. The fruits are dried and split, and the seeds are removed and dried further. The seeds and rhizomes are sold whole, as powder, or as oil extracts. [14]
In general, this plant is common in the wild. It is in great demand for medicinal use, so it is cultivated on farms in India, but most plant material sold into the pharmaceutical trade comes from wild populations. [7] This is one reason for its decline in parts of its native range. In Sri Lanka it has become rare, and in Orissa it is thought to be nearing extinction. [7] On the other hand, it has been introduced outside its native range and has become a weed which may be invasive. In Australia, for example, it now can be found growing in coastal areas of Queensland and New South Wales. [8] It also is cited as an invasive species in the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati, and Singapore. [5]
Colchicum is a genus of perennial flowering plants containing around 160 species which grow from bulb-like corms. It is a member of the botanical family Colchicaceae, and is native to West Asia, Europe, parts of the Mediterranean coast, down the East African coast to South Africa and the Western Cape. In this genus, the ovary of the flower is underground. As a consequence, the styles are extremely long in proportion, often more than 10 cm (4 in). All species in the genus are toxic.
Goldenseal, also called orangeroot or yellow puccoon, is a perennial herb in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to North America. It may be distinguished by its thick, yellow knotted rootstock. The stem is purplish and hairy above ground and yellow below ground where it connects to the yellow rhizome. Goldenseal reproduces both clonally through the rhizome and sexually, with clonal division more frequent than asexual reproduction. It takes between 4 and 5 years for a plant to reach sexual maturity, i.e. the point at which it produces flowers. Plants in the first stage, when the seed erupts and cotyledons emerge, can remain in this state one or more years. The second vegetative stage occurs during years two and three and is characterized by the development of a single leaf and absence of a well developed stem. Finally, the third stage is reproductive, at which point flowering and fruiting occurs. This last stage takes between 4 and 5 years to develop.
Colchicine is a medication used to prevent and treat gout, to treat familial Mediterranean fever and Behçet's disease, and to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction. The American College of Rheumatology recommends colchicine, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or steroids in the treatment of gout. Other uses for colchicine include the management of pericarditis.
Gloriosa is a genus of 12 species in the plant family Colchicaceae, and includes the formerly recognised genus Littonia. They are native in tropical and southern Africa to Asia, and naturalised in Australia and the Pacific as well as being widely cultivated. The most common English names are flame lily, fire lily, gloriosa lily, glory lily, superb lily, climbing lily, and creeping lily.
Aegopodium podagraria, commonly called ground elder, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae that grows in shady places. The name "ground elder" comes from the superficial similarity of its leaves and flowers to those of elder (Sambucus), which is not closely related. Other common names include herb gerard, bishop's weed, goutweed, gout wort, snow-in-the-mountain, English masterwort and wild masterwort. It is the type species of the genus Aegopodium. It is native to Europe and Asia, but has been introduced around the world as an ornamental plant, where it occasionally poses an ecological threat as an invasive exotic plant.
Colchicum autumnale, commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron, naked boys or naked ladies, is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses, which belong to the family Iridaceae. It is called "naked boys/ladies" because the flowers emerge from the ground long before the leaves appear. Despite the vernacular name of "meadow saffron", this plant is not the source of saffron, which is obtained from the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus – and that plant, too, is sometimes called "autumn crocus".
Nymphaea is a genus of hardy and tender aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Many species are cultivated as ornamental plants, and many cultivars have been bred. Some taxa occur as introduced species where they are not native, and some are weeds. Plants of the genus are known commonly as water lilies, or waterlilies in the United Kingdom. The genus name is from the Greek νυμφαία, nymphaia and the Latin nymphaea, which means "water lily" and were inspired by the nymphs of Greek and Latin mythology.
Nelumbo nucifera, also known as Padma or Kamala, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae.
Veratrum viride, known as Indian poke, corn-lily, Indian hellebore, false hellebore, green false hellebore, or giant false-helleborine, is a species of Veratrum native to eastern and western North America. It is extremely toxic, and is considered a pest plant by farmers with livestock. The species has acquired a large number of other common names within its native range, including American false hellebore, American white hellebore, bear corn, big hellebore, corn lily, devil's bite, duck retten, itchweed, poor Annie, blue hellebore and tickleweed.
Amaryllis belladonna, the Jersey lily, belladonna-lily, naked-lady-lily, or March lily, is a plant species native to Cape Province in South Africa but widely cultivated as an ornamental. It is reportedly naturalized in many places: Corsica, Portugal, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, the Scilly Isles of Great Britain, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ascension Island, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Chile, California, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan and the Juan Fernández Islands.
Zantedeschia aethiopica, commonly known as calla lily and arum lily, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa in Lesotho, South Africa, and Eswatini.
Nymphaea lotus, the white Egyptian lotus, tiger lotus, white lotus, or Egyptian water-lily, is a flowering plant of the family Nymphaeaceae.
Podophyllum peltatum is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Berberidaceae. Its common names are mayapple, American mandrake, wild mandrake, and ground lemon. It is widespread across most of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.
Nicotiana tabacum, or cultivated tobacco, is an annually grown herbaceous plant of the genus Nicotiana. N. tabacum is the most commonly grown species in the genus Nicotiana, as the plant's leaves are commercially harvested to be processed into tobacco for human use. The plant is tropical in origin, is commonly grown throughout the world, and is often found in cultivation. It grows to heights between 1 to 2 metres. Research is ongoing into its ancestry among wild Nicotiana species, but it is believed to be a hybrid of Nicotiana sylvestris, N. tomentosiformis, and possibly N. otophora.
Hemerocallis fulva, the orange day-lily, tawny daylily, corn lily, tiger daylily, fulvous daylily, ditch lily or Fourth of July lily, is a species of daylily native to Asia. It is very widely grown as an ornamental plant in temperate climates for its showy flowers and ease of cultivation. It is not a true lily in the genus Lilium, but gets its common name from the superficial similarity of its flowers to Lilium and from the fact that each flower lasts only one day.
Sandersonia is a monotypic genus of rhizomatous plant, belonging to the family Colchicaceae, the single species Sandersonia aurantiaca being native to South Africa and Eswatini (Swaziland). Common names for S. aurantiaca include Christmas bells, golden lily of the valley, Chinese lantern lily and Chinese lantern bulb. S. aurantiaca is a perennial plant of trailing growth that can reach 30 inches in height. The flowers are yellow or orange.
Thaumatococcus daniellii, also known as miracle fruit or miracle berry, is a plant species from tropical Africa of the Marantaceae family. It is a large, rhizomatous, flowering herb native to the rainforests of western Africa in Sierra Leone, southeast to Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also an introduced species in Australia and Singapore.
Heliotropium indicum, commonly known as Indian heliotrope, Indian turnsole is an annual, hirsute plant that is a common weed in waste places and settled areas. It is native to Asia. It is widely used in native medicine in Tamil Nadu, India.
Ornamental bulbous plants, often called ornamental bulbs or just bulbs in gardening and horticulture, are herbaceous perennials grown for ornamental purposes, which have underground or near ground storage organs. Botanists distinguish between true bulbs, corms, rhizomes, stem tubers and tuberous roots, any of which may be termed "bulbs" in horticulture. Bulb species usually lose their upper parts during adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat or winter cold. The bulb's storage organs contain moisture and nutrients that are used to survive these adverse conditions in a dormant state. When conditions become favourable the reserves sustain a new growth cycle. In addition, bulbs permit vegetative or asexual multiplication in these species. Ornamental bulbs are used in parks and gardens and as cut flowers.
Baeometra is a genus in the family Colchicaceae containing a single species, Baeometra uniflora. It is native to South Africa, where it is commonly called beetle lily due to the dark markings on the tepals.
