Scadoxus multiflorus

Blood lily
Inflorescence of a blood lily in India
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Amaryllidoideae
Genus:	Scadoxus
Species:	S. multiflorus
Binomial name
Scadoxus multiflorus (Martyn) Raf.
Synonyms
List Amaryllis multiflora (Martyn) Tratt. Haemanthus abyssinicus Herb. Haemanthus andrei De Wild. Haemanthus arabicus M.Roem. Haemanthus arnoldianus De Wild. & T.Durand Haemanthus bequaertii De Wild. Haemanthus bivalvis Beck Haemanthus cecilae Baker Haemanthus colchicifolius Salisb. Haemanthus cruentatus Schumach. & Thonn. Haemanthus delagoensis Herb. Haemanthus eurysiphon Harms Haemanthus filiflorus Baker ex Hiern Haemanthus kalbreyeri Baker Haemanthus katharinae Baker Haemanthus longitubus C.H.Wright Haemanthus lynesii Stapf Haemanthus mannii Baker Haemanthus micrantherus Pax Haemanthus mildbraedii Perkins Haemanthus multiflorus Martyn Haemanthus nicholsonii Baker Haemanthus otaviensis Dinter Haemanthus rupestris Baker Haemanthus sacculus E.Phillips Haemanthus sacculus Phillips Haemanthus seretii De Wild. Haemanthus somaliensis Baker Haemanthus tenuiflorus Herb. nom. illeg. Haemanthus zambesiacus Baker Nerissa multiflorus (Martyn) Salisb. nom. inval.

Scadoxus multiflorus (formerly Haemanthus multiflorus) is a bulbous plant native to most of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Somalia to South Africa. It is also native to Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman) and to the Seychelles. It is naturalized in Mexico and in the Chagos Archipelago. It is grown as an ornamental plant for its brilliantly coloured flowers, either in containers or in the ground in where the climate is suitable. There are three recognized subspecies. Strongly toxic like other Scadoxus species, it has been used as a component of arrow poisons and fishing poisons, as well as in traditional medicine. Common names, some of which are used for other species, include blood lily, bloodflower, Katherine-wheel, oxtongue lily, poison root and powderpuff lily.

Scadoxus multiflorus grows from a "rhizomatous bulb", i.e. a bulb which also produces rhizomes (modified underground stems). The leaves and flower may appear together or the leaves may be produced later. The bases of the leaves, the stalks or petioles, are tightly wrapped together to form a pseudostem or false stem, 5–60 cm (2–24 in) long. The flowers are produced in an umbel at the top of a leafless stem (scape), 12–75 cm (5–30 in) long. Both the pseudostem and the scape are often covered with reddish brown to dark violet spots. The bracts under the umbel soon wither.

The umbel of flowers is more-or-less globe shaped, with from 10 to 200 individual flowers. Each flower has a stalk (pedicel) typically 15–45 mm (0.6–1.8 in) long. The tepals, filaments of the stamens and the style are all scarlet, fading to pink. The bases of the tepals are fused to form a cylinder-shaped tube, 4–26 mm (0.2–1.0 in) long; the free ends of the tepals are 12–32 mm (0.5–1.3 in) long, narrow and spreading. The fruit is a berry, 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) across.

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Wikipedia