Climber
Gloriosa superba L.
🗒 Synonyms
synonym | Eugone superba (L.) Salisb. |
synonym | Gloriosa angulata Schumach. |
synonym | Gloriosa cirrhifolia Stokes |
synonym | Gloriosa doniana Schult. & Schult.f. |
synonym | Gloriosa lutea Auct. |
synonym | Gloriosa nepalensis G.Don |
synonym | Gloriosa rockefelleriana Stehlé & M.Stehlé |
synonym | Gloriosa rothschildiana O'Brien |
synonym | Gloriosa superba f. doniana (Schult. & Schult.f.) T.Durand & Schinz |
synonym | Gloriosa superba var. angustifolia Baker |
synonym | Gloriosa verschuurii Hoog |
synonym | Methonica doniana (Schult. & Schult.f.) Kunth |
synonym | Methonica gloriosa Salisb. |
synonym | Methonica senegalensis Poit. |
synonym | Methonica superba (L.) Crantz |
🗒 Common Names
Assamese |
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Bengali |
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English |
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Gujarati |
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Hin |
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Hindi |
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Irula |
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Kannada |
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Malayalam |
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Marathi |
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Nepali |
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Oriya |
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Other |
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Sanskrit |
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Tamil |
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Telugu |
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Urdu |
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📚 Overview
Description
Habit: A herbaceous climber, to 5m.
Keystone Foundation
Attributions | Keystone Foundation |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Herbaceous climbers with tuberous roots. Leaves subsessile, alternate, opposite or whorled, 5-13 x 1.5-4 cm, ovate-lanceolate, base cordate or amplexicaul, apex acuminate, ending in a tendril. Flowers bisexual, showy, axilliary, solitary or in few-flowered, terminal racemes; pedicel to 7 cm long. Perianth-lobes 6, free, 5-7 x 0.8-1.2 cm, 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 c. 1 x 0.5 cm, oblong, 3-locular; ovules numerous; style to 4 cm long, deflexed; stigmas 3. Capsule 3-5 x 1-2 cm, ellipsoid-oblong. Seeds many, c. 3 mm, globose, warty.
Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi
Attributions | Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
No Data
📚 Nomenclature and Classification
📚 Natural History
Morphology
Flower
In axillary, solitary or subcorymbose; orange and scarlet to crimson. Flowering from October-November.
Fruit
An oblong-ellipsoid capsule, torulose; seeds many, globose, warty. Fruiting throughout the year.
Field tips
Rootstock tuberous, exposed. Leaf apex modified into tendrils.
Leaf Arrangement
Alternate, opposite or whorled
Leaf Type
Simple
Leaf Shape
Oblong-lanceolate
Leaf Apex
Acuminate
Leaf Base
Cordate-amplexicaul
Leaf Margin
Entire
Keystone Foundation
Attributions | Keystone Foundation |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Miscellaneous Details
This is an important medicinal plant, used as an antidote for snake poison, is in demand commercially. The tuber is poisonous, when consumed in high quantities. Colchicine is the important alkaloid extracted from the seed and used in modern medicine. It is also the state flower of Tamil Nadu.
Keystone Foundation
Attributions | Keystone Foundation |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
No Data
📚 Habitat and Distribution
General Habitat
Habitat
Terrestrial
Semi-evergreen, moist deciduous and dry deciduous forests, also in the plains
Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi
Attributions | Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Occasional, in the plains from the coast to 500(1000)m, climbing on hedges and in fire prone areas. Indian subcontinent.
Keystone Foundation
Attributions | Keystone Foundation |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Description
Not common in the scrub jungles and on thickets from plains to 500m. Tropical S.Africa, Madagascar, India to Indo-China and Malesia.
Keystone Foundation
Attributions | Keystone Foundation |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Global Distribution
India: Assam, Tempertae Himayalas, Bihar, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh
Indian Distribution
Assam
Global Distribution
Paleotropics
Indian distribution
State - Kerala, District/s: All Districts
Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi
Attributions | Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
No Data
📚 Occurrence
No Data
📚 Demography and Conservation
📚 Uses and Management
Uses
System of Medicines Used In
Ayurveda
Folk medicine
Siddha
Unani
Sowa-Rigpa
State flower of Tamil Nadu. The tubers contain toxins.
Keystone Foundation
Attributions | Keystone Foundation |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
System Of Medicines Used In
Ayurveda, Sowa-Rigpa, Unani, Siddha, Folk medicine
FRLHT's ENVIS Centre on Medicinal Plants: http://envis.frlht.org/plant_details.php?disp_id=1052
Attributions | FRLHT's ENVIS Centre on Medicinal Plants: http://envis.frlht.org/plant_details.php?disp_id=1052 |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Medicinal
Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi
Attributions | Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
No Data
📚 Information Listing
References
- D K Ved, Suma Tagadur Sureshchandra, Vijay Barve, Vijay Srinivas, Sathya Sangeetha, K. Ravikumar, Kartikeyan R., Vaibhav Kulkarni, Ajith S. Kumar, S.N. Venugopal, B. S. Somashekhar, M.V. Sumanth, Noorunissa Begum, Sugandhi Rani, Surekha K.V., and Nikhil Desale. 2016. (envis.frlht.org / frlhtenvis.nic.in). FRLHT's ENVIS Centre on Medicinal Plants, Bengaluru. http://envis.frlht.org/plant_details.php?disp_id=1052
- Gloriosa superba L., Sp. Pl. 305. 1753; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 358. 1892; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 1519(1061). 1928; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 292. 1982; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 416. 1984; Ansari, Fl. Kasaragod Div. 389. 1985; Manilal, Fl. Silent Valley 320. 1988; Ramach. & V.J. Nair, Fl. Cannanore Dist. 477. 1988; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 401. 1989; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 812. 1990; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 510. 1990; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 482. 1994; Subram., Fl. Thenmala Div. 391. 1995; Sasidh. et al., Bot. Stud. Med. Pl. Kerala 14,34. 1996; Sasidh. & Sivar., Fl. Pl. Thrissur For. 471. 1996; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 729. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 457. 1998; Sasidh., Fl. Chinnar WLS 314. 1999; Ravikumar & Ved, Illustr. Field Guide 100 Red Listed Med. Pl. 165. 2000; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 353. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 507. 2005; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 695. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 881. 2009.
Information Listing > References
- D K Ved, Suma Tagadur Sureshchandra, Vijay Barve, Vijay Srinivas, Sathya Sangeetha, K. Ravikumar, Kartikeyan R., Vaibhav Kulkarni, Ajith S. Kumar, S.N. Venugopal, B. S. Somashekhar, M.V. Sumanth, Noorunissa Begum, Sugandhi Rani, Surekha K.V., and Nikhil Desale. 2016. (envis.frlht.org / frlhtenvis.nic.in). FRLHT's ENVIS Centre on Medicinal Plants, Bengaluru. http://envis.frlht.org/plant_details.php?disp_id=1052
- Gloriosa superba L., Sp. Pl. 305. 1753; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 358. 1892; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 1519(1061). 1928; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 292. 1982; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 416. 1984; Ansari, Fl. Kasaragod Div. 389. 1985; Manilal, Fl. Silent Valley 320. 1988; Ramach. & V.J. Nair, Fl. Cannanore Dist. 477. 1988; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 401. 1989; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 812. 1990; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 510. 1990; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 482. 1994; Subram., Fl. Thenmala Div. 391. 1995; Sasidh. et al., Bot. Stud. Med. Pl. Kerala 14,34. 1996; Sasidh. & Sivar., Fl. Pl. Thrissur For. 471. 1996; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 729. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 457. 1998; Sasidh., Fl. Chinnar WLS 314. 1999; Ravikumar & Ved, Illustr. Field Guide 100 Red Listed Med. Pl. 165. 2000; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 353. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 507. 2005; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 695. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 881. 2009.
Floristic enumeration of Torna Fort (Western Ghats, India): a storehouse of endemic plants
Jo
Journal of Threatened TaxaFloristic diversity of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India
Jo
Journal of Threatened TaxaFlora of Fergusson College campus, Pune, India: monitoring changes over half a century
Jo
Journal of Threatened TaxaA checklist of the flowering plants of Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh, India
Jo
Journal of Threatened TaxaNo Data
🐾 Taxonomy
Root | Root |
Kingdom | Plantae |
Phylum | Tracheophyta |
Class | Liliopsida |
Order | Liliales |
Family | Colchicaceae |
Genus | Gloriosa |
Species | Gloriosa superba L. |
📊 Temporal Distribution
📷 Related Observations
👥 Groups