Gloriosa Lily

Gloriosa superba is a herbaceous perennial climber of the lily family that grows from a fleshy, horizontal, white rhizome. The stem reaches 3 to 4 metres in climbing plants, and the leaf tips form tendrils that hold on to surfaces. The page describes solitary bright red and yellow flowers on long stalks, and says cultivars include all white, orange, plum or yellow flowers. It is widely cultivated in South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia and Africa. The page says most parts of the plant are highly poisonous because of the alkaloid colchicine, yet it is used extensively in traditional medicine such as Ayurveda. Symptoms of poisoning begin two to six hours after ingestion. The plant derivatives are used in arrow poison in Africa and as a snake repellent in India. It is the national flower of Zimbabwe and the state flower of Tamil Nadu.