129

Gloriosa superba L.

Synonym	:	Gloriosa abyssinica A.Rich.
Family	:	Colchicaceae
Local name	:	English - Glory lily, Malabar glory lily Malayalam - Menthonni
Flowering and fruiting period	:	July-December
Distribution	:	Paleotropics
Distribution in Kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Semi-evergreen, moist deciduous and dry deciduous forests, also in the plains.
IUCN Status	:	Least concerned
Uses	:	The plant is used as an antidote for snake poison. The tuber is used traditionally for the treatment of bruises, colic, chronic ulcers, haemorrhoids, cancer and is also employed as a tonic and purgative.
Key Botanical Characters: Herbaceous climbers with tuberous roots. Leaves subsessile, alternate, opposite or whorled, ovate-lanceolate, base cordate or amplexicaul, apex acuminate, ending in a tendril. Flowers bisexual, showy, axilliary, solitary or in few-flowered, terminal racemes; perianth-lobes 6, free, 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, oblong, 3-locular; ovules numerous; deflexed; stigmas 3. Capsule ellipsoid-oblong; seeds many, globose, warty.