''Gloriosa'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of 12 species in the

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

family

Colchicaceae Colchicaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes 15 genera with a total of about 285 known species according to Christenhusz and Byng in 2016. Description The family is characterized by the presence of colchicine. Taxonomy The APG III ...

, and includes the formerly recognised genus ''Littonia''. They are native in tropical and southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, and naturalised in Australia and the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

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. Leaf tip tendrils in Gloriosa

They are tender, tuberous rooted

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

perennials 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 widel ...

, adapted to monsoon rainfall with a dormant dry season. All parts of the plant contain

colchicine Colchicine is a medication used to treat gout and Behçet's disease. In gout, it is less preferred to NSAIDs or steroids. Other uses for colchicine include the management of pericarditis and familial Mediterranean fever. Colchicine is taken b ...

and related alkaloids and are therefore dangerously toxic if ingested, and contact with the stems and leaves can cause skin irritation. Various preparations of the plant are used in traditional medicines for a variety of complaints in both

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Plants have leaf tip tendrils.

Description

''Gloriosa'' are herbaceous

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 ...

s that climb or scramble over other plants with the aid of

tendril In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as '' Cuscuta''. There are many plants that have tend ...

s at the ends of their leaves and can reach 3 meters in height. They have showy

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s, many with distinctive and pronouncedly reflexed petals, like a Turk's cap lily, ranging in colour from a greenish-yellow through yellow, orange, red and sometimes even a deep pinkish-red. "Scandent herbs, the rootstock a horizontal rhizome, the stem leafy, the leaves spirally arranged or subopposite, the upper ones with cirrhose tips; flowers solitary, large, boner on long, spreading

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 ...

actinomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...

, hermaphrodite;

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla ( petals) or tepals when ...

segments 6, free,

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

, keeled within at base, long-persistent; stamens 6,

hypogynous In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule(s) and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the bas ...

, the anthers extrorse, medifixed and versatile, opening by longitudinal slits; ovary superior, 3-celled, the carpels cohering only by their inner margins, the ovules numerous, the style deflected at base and projecting from the flower more or less horizontally; fruit a loculicidal capsule with many seeds"Smith, Albert C. 1979. ''Flora Vitiensis nova: A new flora of Fiji (Spermatophytes only)''. Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. 1:141-14
in Biodiversity Heritage Library
/ref>

Species

, the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected pla ...

accepted 11 species of ''Gloriosa'', ignoring hybrids, varieties and cultivars. Many other names are currently rejected as synonyms or unresolved for lack of sufficient data. * '' Gloriosa baudii'' (A.Terracc.) Chiov. - Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya * '' Gloriosa carsonii'' Baker - C + E + S Africa * '' Gloriosa flavovirens'' (Dammer) J.C.Manning & Vinn. - Angola * '' Gloriosa lindenii'' (Baker) J.C.Manning & Vinn. - C + SE Africa * ''

Gloriosa littonioides Gloriosa can refer to: * ''Gloriosa'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Colchicaceae * Gloriosa (poem) ''Gloriosa'' is a symphonic poem for band composed by Yasuhide Ito. It has three movements: # Oratio # Cantus # Dies Festus. These s ...

'' (Welw. ex Baker) J.C.Manning & Vinn. - C + SC Africa * '' Gloriosa modesta'' (Hook.) J.C.Manning & Vinn. - southern Africa * '' Gloriosa revoilii'' (Franch.) J.C.Manning & Vinn. - NE Africa, Yemen * ''

Gloriosa rigidifolia Gloriosa can refer to: * ''Gloriosa'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Colchicaceae * Gloriosa (poem) ''Gloriosa'' is a symphonic poem for band composed by Yasuhide Ito. It has three movements: # Oratio # Cantus # Dies Festus. These s ...

'' (Bredell) J.C.Manning & Vinn. -

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

* '' Gloriosa sessiliflora'' Nordal & Bingham - Angola, Zambia, Caprivi * '' Gloriosa simplex'' L. - sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar * ''

Gloriosa superba ''Gloriosa superba'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Colchicaceae. Common names include flame lily, climbing lily, creeping lily, glory lily, gloriosa lily, tiger claw,Scheper, J''Gloriosa superba''.Floridata.com. agnishikha and fir ...

'' L. - sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles, Indian Subcontinent, SE Asia Gloriosa lily

Distribution

The genus is widely distributed in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and from the Indian subcontinent to

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. Th ...

. ''Gloriosa superba'' in particular is widely naturalized. In Australia, "scattered naturalized populations exist in the understorey of coastal dry

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

forest and sand dune vegetation throughout south-east

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

".Csurhes, S., Edwards, R. 1998. ''Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control.'' Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia, Canberra. pp. 164-16
pdf
It is considered a rampant and dangerous invasive weed in Australia, dominating the coastal dunes at the expense of native species and leading to deaths of native animals and birds when ingested. In India, ''Gloriosa'' is distributed in the Western Ghats but the density is rapidly decreasing due to excessive uprooting by herbal medicine producers.

Propagation

"Propagation generally occurs from seeds, although mature plants can be divided and grown from tubers. The hard seeds can remain dormant for 6-9 months." Growth stops if temperatures are of the order of 15°C and the dies when subjected to 12°C during this time. La Gloriosa is an extremely fragile and delicate flower, tough to cultivate.

Toxicology

All parts of ''Gloriosa'' contain

, the roots and seeds are especially rich. The lethal dose of colchicine is about 6 mg/kg, and ''Gloriosa superba'' has been used as a means of committing suicide.

Symbolism

''Gloriosa superba'' is the national flower of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

(where it is a protected plant). A diamond brooch in the shape of the flame lily was a gift from

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...

(modern day Zimbabwe) to Queen Elizabeth II on a visit in 1947 while she was still the crown princess. It is also the state flower of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

state in India. It is also considered the national flower of

Tamil Eelam Tamil Eelam ( ta, தமிழீழம், ''tamiḻ īḻam''; generally rendered outside Tamil-speaking areas as தமிழ் ஈழம்) is a proposed independent state that many Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora ...

, a former de-facto inside Republic of Sri Lanka.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1454851 Colchicaceae Colchicaceae genera Medicinal plants of Africa