Gloriosa (plant)

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" ==Taxonomy==

It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 with Gloriosa superba as the type species. == 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". 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, 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. It 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. == References ==