''Drimia indica'' is a species of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
found from
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
.
Description
''Drimia indica'' is a
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
herbaceous flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
which grows from
bulbs. It has long leaves, typically 15–30 cm long by 1–2.5 cm wide, but sometimes considerably longer. The flowers, which appear in spring before the leaves, are borne in
racemes on a leafless stem (
scape) up to 60 cm long. The flowers are widely spaced on the raceme, which is 15–31 cm long, and are carried on stalks (
pedicels
In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''.
Description
Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...
) 2.5–4 cm long. Individual flowers are bell-shaped. The six pale brown
tepal
A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...
s have white margins. The 6–7 cm long
stamens have yellow anthers and filaments which are flattened at the base. Between six and nine seeds are produced in a capsule which is 1.5–1.8 cm long. Individual seeds are black and shaped like flattened ellipsoids.
[
]
Distribution
''D. indica'' has a wide distribution, in tropical and southern Africa, the Indian subcontinent and eastwards to Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
Uses
''D. indica'' is used as a substitute for the "true squill", ''Drimia maritima
''Drimia maritima'' ( syn. ''Urginea maritima'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae (formerly the family Hyacinthaceae). This species is known by several common names, including squill, sea squill, ...
'', in traditional medicine.[
]
Sources
External links
*https://archive.today/20130216224731/http://www.tribalmedicine-hemadriz.com/papersnreviews.html
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15511036
Scilloideae
Flora of Asia
Flora of Africa