Scadoxus puniceus

(L.) Friis & Nordal

Amaryllidaceae Edible: Fruit 3,716 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Scadoxus puniceus, commonly known as the paintbrush lily, is a species of bulbous plant. It is native to much of southern and eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini (Swaziland), and South Africa (the Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Northern Provinces). Scadoxus puniceus can be found in cool, shady habitat such as ravines and forests, where it is often found in moist leaf litter. Other common names include snake lily, royal paintbrush, King-of-Candida, African blood lily (English), rooikwas (Afrikaans), isisphompho, and umgola (Zulu). There are nine species of Scadoxus of which three, S. puniceus, S. multiflorus (with 2 subspecies) and S.membranaceus, occur in South Africa.

Description

A herb with a bulb. It grows 75 cm tall. The leaf stalks form a false stem 5-50 cm long. The flowers are in heads on long stalks. There are 30-100 flowers. The flowers are orange. The fruit are berries 5-10 mm across. They are red.

Edible Uses

The fruit are eaten raw.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

While the bulb is considered poisonous in significant amounts, it is used traditionally to treat "coughs, gastro-intestinal problems, febrile colds, asthma, leprosy, sprains and bruises," and "as an antidote to poisons.'" It is also used as a diuretic. The leaves are applied to sores and ulcers to aid healing and act as an antiseptic. The plant is also traditionally consumed during pregnancy as part of an herbal regime to ensure safe labour. The alkaloids in the plant include haemanthamines, haemanthidine, 6-β-hydroxycrinamine, scapunine, and scadoxucines.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It is often near streams and near swamps.

Where It Grows

Africa, Botswana, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Synonyms

Haemanthus magnificus Herb.Haemanthus natalensis Hook.Haemanthus puniceus L.and others

References (5)

Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 10
Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 13
Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
Vinnicombe, 1976,
Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179