''Scadoxus nutans'' is a

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to southwest

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. Its red to pink flowers face downwards as the top of the flowering stem bends over, unlike any of the other species of ''Scadoxus''. It grows mainly as an

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

in tropical mountain forests, which are disappearing, making the species vulnerable to extinction. It is sometimes cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

Description

''Scadoxus nutans'' grows from a rhizome, with growth occurring mainly in spring and autumn. The whole plant is usually tall, occasionally as high as . The overlapping bases of the leaf stalks ( petioles) form a false stem or pseudostem, which emerges from the side of last year's pseudostem. The pseudostem is green, marked with brown spots, and is about long. The narrow leaf blades have wavy edges and spread out from the pseudostem, being up to long and wide. The flowers are borne on a leafless stalk ( scape), which is bent over during flowering so that the flowers face downwards. no other species of ''Scadoxus'' has similarly nodding flowers. The

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

of 2–30 flowers has a dense brush-like appearance and is surrounded by a number of

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, which persist until fruiting occurs. Individual flowers are carried on short stems (

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

s), less than long, and have red to pink

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, fused at the base for about with narrow free segments up to long. When the flowers fade and fruits are formed, the scape straightens, so that the ripe red

berries 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 ...

, about long, are held upright. The sticky seeds are elongated, about long and wide. All other species of ''Scadoxus'' have ovoid or spherical seeds.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1971 by

Ib Friis Ib Friis (born 1945) is a Danish professor of botany at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen. Friis has mainly studied the taxonomy of tropical Urticaceae and related families, flora and vegetation of Africa south of t ...

and Inger Bjørnstad, being initially placed in the genus ''

Haemanthus ''Haemanthus'' is a Southern African genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Members of the genus are known as blood lily and paintbrush lily. There are some 22 known species, native to South Africa, B ...

''. In 1976, the same two authors (the latter under a different surname) transferred the species to ''Scadoxus'' as part of their segregation of the two genera. The specific epithet ''nutans'' refers to the nodding umbel of flowers.

Distribution and habitat

''Scadoxus nutans'' is an Ethiopian

. It is found in the Kaffa and Illubabor regions in the southwest of the country. It occurs only in evergreen mountain forests, between and in elevation. Although occasionally found growing on the ground, it grows mainly as an

, with no apparent preference for the host species of tree.

Conservation

''Scadoxus nutans'' is described as "vulnerable" as the mountain forest on which it depends is continually being lost through changes of land use. The Ethiopian Tree Fund Foundation (ETFF) is endeavouring to maintain and restore native forest by working with local farmers.

Cultivation

''Scadoxus nutans'' can be cultivated where the necessary temperature can be maintained in the winter (at least ). In a pot it requires a very open, coarse organic growing medium. Jonathan Hutchinson, the UK

National Plant Collection The National Plant Collection scheme is the main conservation vehicle whereby the Plant Heritage charity (formerly the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens) can accomplish its mission: to conserve, grow, propagate, docume ...

holder for ''Scadoxus'', recommends the addition of lumps of

tree fern The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tree ...

stem. Pests are those of ''Scadoxus'' generally.

Toxicity

The genus ''Scadoxus'' is known to have some strongly toxic species, containing poisonous

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s. These are lethal to animals, such as sheep and goats, that graze on the plants. Other species of ''Scadoxus'' have been used in parts of tropical Africa as components of

arrow poison Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

s and fishing poisons.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15503772 Amaryllidoideae Plants described in 1971