Gloriosa is a genus of 12 species in the plant family Colchicaceae, and includes the formerly recognised genus Littonia. They are native in tropical and southern Africa to Asia, and naturalised in Australia and the Pacific 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.

They are tender, tuberous rooted deciduous perennials, adapted to monsoon rainfall with a dormant dry season. All parts of the plant contain colchicine 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 Africa and Asia. Plants have leaf tip tendrils.

Description Gloriosa are herbaceous perennials that climb or scramble over other plants with the aid of tendrils at the ends of their leaves and can reach 3 meters in height. They have showy flowers, 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, borne on long, spreading pedicels, actinomorphic, hermaphrodite; perianth segments 6, free, lanceolate, keeled within at base, long-persistent; stamens 6, hypogynous, 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. 1:141-142 in Biodiversity Heritage Library

Taxonomy It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 with Gloriosa superba as the type species.Linné, Carl von, & Salvius, Lars. (1753). Caroli Linnaei ... Species plantarum :exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas... (Vol. 1, p. 305). Impensis Laurentii Salvii. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358324 Species , the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 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. Image Scientific name Distribution 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 (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, YemenGloriosa rigidifolia (Bredell) J.C.Manning & Vinn. Limpopo Gloriosa sessiliflora Nordal & Bingham Angola, Zambia, Caprivi Gloriosa simplex L. sub-Saharan Africa, MadagascarGloriosa superba L. sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles, Indian Subcontinent, SE Asia

Distribution The genus is widely distributed in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and from the Indian subcontinent to Malesia. Gloriosa superba in particular is widely naturalized. In Australia, "scattered naturalized populations exist in the understorey of coastal dry sclerophyll forest and sand dune vegetation throughout south-east Queensland and New South Wales".Csurhes, S., Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia, Canberra. pp. 164-165 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 their occurrence is locally rare due to degrading habitats and rural populations consuming the tubers for food and medicine.

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 and the plant dies when subjected to during this time. La Gloriosa is an extremely fragile and delicate flower, tough to cultivate.

Toxicology All parts of Gloriosa contain colchicine, the roots and seeds are especially rich. The lethal dose of colchicine is about 6 mg/kg,Martindale - the Extra Pharmacopoeia and Gloriosa superba has been used as a means of committing suicide.

Symbolism

Gloriosa superba is the national flower of Zimbabwe (where it is a protected plant). A diamond brooch in the shape of the flame lily was a gift from Southern Rhodesia (modern day Zimbabwe) to Queen Elizabeth II on a visit in 1947 while she was still the crown princess. The flame lily was used on the regimental colours of the Rhodesian Light Infantry, this was unique to the Rhodesian Light Infantry as it was the only regiment in the British Empire to not have a wreath of thistles or roses.

Gloriosa superba is also the state flower of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is also considered the national flower of Tamil Eelam, a former de facto inside Republic of Sri Lanka.

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