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Gloriosa rothschildiana

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Photo from Don's Garden.


Fruits by Himesh Dilruwan Jayasingh, Powo.science.kew.org.

Author: James O'Brien, 1903
Family:  COLCHICACEAE
Origin:  Andaman Island, Angola, Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, Borneo, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cabinda, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, China South-Central, Congo, East Himalaya, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Island, India, Ivory Coast, Java, Kenya, Laccadive Island, Laos, Lesser Sunda Island, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaya, Maldives, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi + Sumatera; Indonesia, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe
Soil:  Mix
Water:  Medium - Maximum
Sun:  Medium - Maximum
Thickness:  2 Centimetres
Height:  120 Centimetres
Flower:  Red / Yellow
Propagate:  Seeds
Names:  Glory Lily, Gloriosa Lily, Climbing Lily, Flame Lily, Tiger Claw
Synonyms:  Might be: Gloriosa superba, L. 1753.
Eugone superba, Salisb.
Gloriosa angulata,
Schumach.
Gloriosa cirrhifolia,
Stokes.
Gloriosa doniana,
Schult. & Schult.f.
Gloriosa nepalensis,
G.Don.
Gloriosa rockefelleriana,
Stehlé & M.Stehlé.
Gloriosa verschuurii,
Hoog.
Methonica doniana,
Kunth.
Methonica gloriosa,
Salisb.
Methonica superba,
.

This member of the Colchicaceae family was given this name by James O'Brien in 1903. It is found in subtropical Africa and southern Asia, growing in a well drained but rather rich soil with quite some water and some to lots of sun. The rhizomes can grow to two centimetres in diameter and twelve long, the entire plant climb to 120 centimetres in height. The flowers are red and yellow.

The genera mane means 'famous' or 'glorious', rearing to the flower. The species is named after Baron Z.W. Rothschild, who brought it back to England in 1901.

This lovely flower is the national flower of Zimbabwe and was used as a symbol of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.


A wild plant by Roger and Alison Heath, Powo.science.kew.org.