Gloriosa superba (flame lily)

Native to tropical and southern Africa, and temperate and tropical Asia (where it occurs in China, Indochina and from the Indian Subcontinent to the Lesser Sunda Islands). It has been found up to 2,500 m above sea level. It is widely naturalised (including in Europe and Australia) and is listed as a weed in Australia and in some parts of the USA. Gloriosa superba is common throughout much of its range. However, in some areas of India (Patalkot, Chhindwara District), Bangladesh and Sri Lanka it has been assessed as rare, and natural populations are believed to be in decline. In the Indian state of Orissa, for example, where G. superba used to be common, it is now on the verge of extinction according to the Wildlife Institute of India.

A perennial, tuberous, climbing (sometimes erect) herb, up to 4 m long. The leaves are simple (undivided). The leaf blade has strong, parallel nerves and ends in a tendril-like spiral. The solitary flowers are bisexual, showy, pendulous and 4.5–7 cm in diameter. The pedicel (flower stalk) can be up to 20 cm long. The flowers are usually red and yellow with crisply waved margins. The fruit is a large (up to 6 cm long), oblong capsule. It is thought that pollination is probably carried out by butterflies and sunbirds.

Flame lily is in decline in some areas of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and southern Africa, due to over-collection of the seeds and tubers. Although commercially cultivated in southern India, it is estimated that pharmacies and drug manufacturers in India fulfil up to 75% of their raw material demand from wild populations.

Conservation assessments carried out by Kew

Gloriosa superba is being monitored as part of the Sampled Red List Index Project, which aims to produce conservation assessments for a representative sample of the world’s plant species. This information will then be used to monitor trends in extinction risk and help focus conservation efforts where they are needed most.

Learn more about some of the plants that were assessed as part of this project.

Use Kew's interactive map and charts to explore the state of plant life around the world and find out more about plants at risk.

Flame lily has a wide variety of uses, especially within traditional medicine as practised in tropical Africa and Asia (including Ayurvedic medicine in India). It contains the alkaloid colchicine, which has been used effectively to treat acute gout, intestinal worms, infertility, wounds and other skin problems. It has also been used as an antidote for snake bite, as a laxative, and to induce abortion. It has proven useful in the treatment of chronic ulcers, arthritis, cholera, colic, kidney problems and typhus.

Colchicine is widely used as an experimental tool in the study of cell division, as it can inhibit mitosis (a type of cell division), induce polyploidy (cells containing more than two sets of chromosomes), and has been used in the treatment of cancer.

Gloriosa superba is widely cultivated as an ornamental for its stunning flowers. It is the national flower of Zimbabwe (where it is protected from illegal harvesting under the Parks and Wildlife Act).

Flame lily can be seen growing in the Temperate House, Palm House and Waterlily House at Kew.

Dried and alcohol-preserved specimens of Gloriosa superba are held in Kew’s Herbarium, where they are available to researchers from around the world, by appointment. The details of some of these, including images, can be seen on-line in the Herbarium Catalogue. Specimens of flame lily tubers are also held in Kew’s Economic Botany Collection, where they are available for study, by appointment.

Search Kew's databases for more information on this species

eMonocot Project

IUCN Red List and SRLI explained

JSTOR – Flora of Tropical East Africa – Gloriosa superba

SEPASAL (Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands)

Protabase