Gloriosa superba - Glory Lily

❏ Binomial Name : Gloriosa superba L.

❏ Synonym : Eugone superbaa,Gloriosa lutea,Methonica superba 

❏ Family : Colchicaceae

❏ Common Name : Glory Lily

❏ Tamil Name : Kallappai Kilangu

❏ Hindi Name : Karibari

❏ IUCN status: Least Concern

Gloriosa superba Botanical Description

Herbaceous climbers with tuberous roots. Leaves subsessile, alternate, opposite or whorled, 5-13 x 1.5-4 cm, ovate-lanceolate, base cordate or amplexicaul, apex acuminate, ending in a tendril. Flowers bisexual, showy, axilliary, solitary or in few-flowered, terminal racemes; pedicel to 7 cm long. Perianth-lobes 6, free, 5-7 x 0.8-1.2 cm, linear-oblong, reflexed or spreading, base narrow, margin undulate, apex acuminate, yellowish below and reddish above. Stamens 6; filaments 3-4 cm long; anthers oblong-linear, versatile. Ovary c. 1 x 0.5 cm, oblong, 3-locular; ovules numerous; style to 4 cm long, deflexed; stigmas 3. Capsule 3-5 x 1-2 cm, ellipsoid-oblong. Seeds many, c. 3 mm, globose, warty. Fl. &Fr.: July-December.

Gloriosa superba Medicinal uses

❀ State flower of Tamil Nadu. The tubers contain toxins. The roots are used in anti-venom preparations.

❀ The whole plant used in the treatment of snake bites, scorpion stings, parasitic skin diseases, urological pains, colic, chronic ulcers, piles, gonorrhoea, gout, infertility, wounds, arthritis, cholera, kidney problems, typhus, itching, leprosy, cancer, nocturnal emission, abdominal pains, head lice, sexually transmitted diseases, and many other diseases.

❀ The tuber has commonly been used as a suicidal agent among women in rural areas and it has also been used for homicide. The flowers are used in religious ceremonies.

❀ The juice of the plant is drunk as an antimalarial

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