Gloriosa superba

Flower

What a glorious flower! The green buds open to large greenish yellow flowers that gradually grow redder as they mature, through orange, scarlet and then crimson before fading. "Rothschildiana" has a thin yellow band on the outside of the petals and as the petals gradually reflex upwards, they twist slightly, giving a flame-like illusion to the flower, and hence the common name, "Flame Lily". The flowers appear for most of the Summer and Autumn until the onset of cold weather. It looks stunning during Christmas.

This tender deciduous perennial grows a weak climbing vine in the Summer and over-winters as a tuber. In the Spring, the V-shapped tuber grows two shoots, each growing into a flowering vine. In late autumn, the vine dies down and grows a new tuber each.

Gloriosa is the national flower of Zimbabwe.

This plant belongs to the autumn crocus family, along with other plants such as Sandersonia. Like all plants in this family, they contain the poison Colchicine. Warning: All parts of this plant, in particular the tubers, are extremely poisonous and ingestion can be fatal. If you suspect you or someone else is poisoned, seek medical aid immediately and tell the doctor the name of this plant and mention Colchicine.

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See also:  Bulbs, Corms & Tubers, Culture / Germination

Bud Opening Flower Flower

Flower Flower Old Flower The green buds open to a yellow-orange flower that fades to dark red. Mature Plant Flowers on a mature plant.