''Scadoxus multiflorus'' (formerly ''Haemanthus multiflorus'') is a bulbous plant native to most of

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

from Senegal to Somalia to South Africa. It is also native to

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

( Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman) and to the Seychelles. It is naturalized in Mexico and in the Chagos Archipelago.It is also found in Indian peninsula. It is grown as an ornamental plant for its brilliantly coloured flowers, either in containers or in the ground in where the climate is suitable. There are three recognized subspecies. Strongly toxic like other ''Scadoxus'' species, it has been used as a component of arrow poisons and fishing poisons, as well as in traditional medicine.

Common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s, some of which are used for other species, include blood lily, ball lily, fireball lily, blood flower, Katherine-wheel, oxtongue lily, poison root and powderpuff lily.

Description

''Scadoxus multiflorus'' grows from a "rhizomatous bulb", i.e. a

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

which also produces

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s (modified underground stems). The leaves and flower may appear together or the leaves may be produced later. The bases of the leaves, the stalks or petioles, are tightly wrapped together to form a pseudostem or false stem, long. The flowers are produced in an umbel at the top of a leafless stem ( scape), long. Both the pseudostem and the scape are often covered with reddish brown to dark violet spots. The

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s under the umbel soon wither. The umbel of flowers is more-or-less globe shaped, with from 10 to 200 individual flowers. Each flower has a stalk ( pedicel) typically long. The tepals, filaments of the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s and the style are all scarlet, fading to pink. The bases of the tepals are fused to form a cylinder-shaped tube, long; the free ends of the tepals are long, narrow and spreading. The fruit is a

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

, across. Differences between the three accepted subspecies have been summarized by Friis and Nordal, and are shown in the table below. It can be seen that although the dimensions mostly overlap, the length of the flower tube relative to the free segments at the end of the flower distinguishes ''S. m.'' subsp. ''longitubus'', in which they are more-or-less the same length, from ''S. m.'' subsp. ''multiflorus'', in which the tube is generally shorter than the free segments. ''S. m.'' subsp. ''katherinae'' is intermediate. ''S. m.'' subsp. ''multiflorus'' tends to have narrower free segments than the other two subspecies. ''S. m.'' subsp. ''katherinae'' is tall, ''S. m.'' subsp. ''longitubus'' short, with ''S. m.'' subsp. ''multiflorus'' generally intermediate, although varying in height throughout its considerable range.

Taxonomy

''Scadoxus multiflorus'' was originally described by English botanist

Thomas Martyn Thomas Martyn (23 September 1735 – 3 June 1825) was an English botanist and Professor of Botany at Cambridge University. He is sometimes confused with the conchologist and entomologist of the same name. Life Thomas Martyn was the son of th ...

in 1795 as ''Haemanthus multiflorus''.

Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...

moved ''Haemanthus multiflorus'' to his new genus ''

Scadoxus ''Scadoxus'' is a genus of African and Arabian plants in the Amaryllidaceae, Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. The English names blood lily or blood flower are used for some of the species. The genus has close affinities with ''Haemant ...

'' in 1838, giving it its current binomial name ''Scadoxus multiflorus''. The separation of ''Scadoxus'' from ''Haemanthus'' was ignored by most workers until 1976, when the two genera were again segregated by Ib Friis and Inger Nordal. ''Haemanthus'' species are southern in distribution, form true

s and have 2''n'' = 16 chromosomes, whereas ''Scadoxus'' species, such as ''S. multiflorus'', are found throughout tropical Africa, do not all form bulbs and have 2''n'' = 18 chromosomes. The leaves are a further distinguishing characteristic: those of ''Scadoxus'' are thinner and have a distinct stalk ( petiole); those of ''Haemanthus'' are thicker and without a petiole.

Subspecies

Three subspecies are known: *''S. multiflorus'' ssp. ''katharinae'' (Baker) Friis & Nordal – Swaziland and eastern South Africa ::

Synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

: ''Haemanthus katharinae'' Baker, ''Haemanthus multiflorus'' subsp. ''katharinae'' (Baker) I.Bjørnstad & Friis *''S. multiflorus'' ssp. ''longitubus'' (C.H.Wright) Friis & Nordal – west Africa ::Synonyms: ''Haemanthus longitubus'' C.H.Wright, ''Haemanthus multiflorus'' subsp. ''longitubus'' (C.H.Wright) I.Bjørnstad & Friis, ''Haemanthus mannii'' Baker *''S. multiflorus'' ssp. ''multiflorus'' – tropical and southern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to tropical and southern Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Only the subspecies ''S. m.'' subsp. ''multiflorus'' occurs throughout this range. it is primarily a plant of moist, shady habitats. ''S. m.'' subsp. ''longitubus'' is found only in tropical West and Central Africa, in moist lowland forest in Ghana,

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

and Sierra Leone as well as in Cameroon. ''S. m.'' subsp. ''katherinae'' is native to Mediterranean climate forest, scrub and woodland in eastern southern Africa – Cape Province and

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

in South Africa and

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

.Called 'May masa poovu' meaning May flower in malayalam as it blooms in the month of May, it can also be found in southern parts of India, especially Kerala.

Cultivation

''Scadoxus multiflorus'' is chill-sensitive and must be kept at a minimum temperature of , for forms of southern African origin, up to or more for those of tropical origin. An open, well-drained growing medium, largely organic in nature, is recommended. Propagation is by seed. Pests are those of ''Scadoxus'' generally. ''Scadoxus multiflorus'' subsp. ''longitubus'' is rarely if ever cultivated, although (under the

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Haemanthus mannii'') it was described as having been "introduced" in 1877. ''Scadoxus multiflorus'' subsp. ''multiflorus'' is produced for sale in large numbers by the Dutch horticultural industry. In cultivated forms, the flowers often appear before the leaves, sometimes not until late summer. ''Scadoxus multiflorus'' subsp. ''katherinae'' has been described as "imposing", sometimes reaching a height of , with a strong purple-spotted pseudostem. Red berries may be produced, which can last through the winter. The UK National Plant Collection for ''Scadoxus'' has described it as "an excellent plant for a glasshouse or sunny windowsill." In South Africa it can be grown in the open garden in the shade, in well-drained, light soil containing plenty of organic matter. It requires ample water when in growth but must have good drainage when dormant. It will grow under trees provided the soil is sufficiently fertile.

Cultivars

Some artificial hybrids between ''S. multiflorus'' subsp. ''katherinae'' and '' S. puniceus'' are known. Johannes Nicolai raised ''S.'' 'König Albert' which flowered for the first time in 1899. Although rare in cultivation, it multiplies rapidly. Of the same parentage is ''S.'' 'Andromeda', raised by C. G. van Tubergen around 1904. ''Scadoxus multiflorus'' subsp. ''katherinae'' has received the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Toxicity and uses

The genus ''Scadoxus'' has some strongly toxic species, containing poisonous alkaloids lethal to animals, such as sheep and goats, that graze on the leaves or bulbs. ''Scadoxus multiflorus'' is traditionally used in parts of tropical Africa as a component of arrow poisons and fishing poisons. It is also used in traditional medicine, although in South Africa less so than ''

Scadoxus puniceus ''Scadoxus puniceus'', commonly known as the paintbrush lily, is a species of bulbous plant. It is native to much of southern and eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini (Swaziland), ...

''.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2228727 Amaryllidoideae Flora of Africa Flora of Saudi Arabia Flora of Mexico Flora of Oman Flora of Yemen Flora of Seychelles Chagos Archipelago Plants described in 1795