Taxon:  Gloriosa superba L.



Summary
Genus:
Gloriosa
Family:
Colchicaceae
Nomen number:
17663
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 1:305.  1753
Verified:
05/19/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
15 (0  active, 0  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Clinostylis speciosa Hochst.
Gloriosa hybr.
Gloriosa abyssinica A. Rich.
Gloriosa homblei De Wild.
Gloriosa rothschildiana OʼBrien
Gloriosa speciosa (Hochst.) Engl.
Gloriosa virescens Lindl.

Invalid Designation(s)
Gloriosa simplex auct.
Images (2 total. Click on image for more.)
Fruit

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
  2. PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
  3. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  4. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  5. Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
  6. Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
  7. Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
  8. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  9. Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
  10. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
  11. Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
  12. Harden, G. J., ed. 1990-1993. Flora of New South Wales.
  13. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
  14. Hosking, J. R. 2002. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
  15. Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
  16. Kala, C. P. et al. 2004. Prioritization of medicinal plants on the basis of available knowledge, existing practices and use value status in Uttaranchal, India. Biodivers. & Conservation 13:459.
  17. Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
  18. Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. 1985. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants Note: poisonous
  19. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
  20. Lebrun, J. P. & A. L. Stork. 1991-. Énumération des plantes à fleurs d'Afrique tropicale. Note: Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève
  21. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
  22. Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
  23. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  24. Munro, D. B. Canadian poisonous plants information system (on-line resource).
  25. Nguyen, P. A. T. et al. 2015. The complete chloroplast genome of colchicine plants (Colchicum autumnale L. and Gloriosa superba L.) and its application for identifying the genus. Planta 242:223-237. DOI: 10.1007/s00425-015-2303-7.
  26. Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):289.
  27. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  28. Stanley, T. D. & E. M. Ross. 1983-1989. Flora of south-eastern Queensland.
  29. Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
  30. Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
  31. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
  32. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
Englishclimbing-lily  1Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Englishcreeping-lily  1Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Englishflame-lily  1Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Englishglory-lily  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Portuguese (Brazil)gloriosa  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)lírio-trepador  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Swedishklänglilja  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaTanzania  Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaUganda  Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSomalia  Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSudan   
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique   
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaBotswana  Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaEswatini  Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaNamibia  Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaCape Province Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaKwaZulu-Natal Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaTransvaal Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSenegal   
1NativeAfricaWestern Indian OceanMadagascar   
1NativeAsia-TemperateChinaChinaYunnan Shengs.Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia   
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentNepal  Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentSri Lanka   
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaCambodia   
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaLaos   
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaMyanmar   
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaThailand   
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaVietnam   
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaIndonesiaJawa Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaIndonesiaLesser Sunda Islands Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaIndonesiaSulawesis.Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
2Cultivated    also cult. 
4Naturalized    natzd. elsewhere 
Native
Africa
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Senegal
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal]
  • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar
Asia-Temperate
  • CHINA: China [Yunnan Sheng (s.)]
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal
  • INDO-CHINA: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
  • MALESIA: Indonesia [Jawa, Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi (s.)]
Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)
  1. Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
  2. Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
  3. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
  4. Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
  5. Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
  6. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
  7. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamental Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Environmentalornamental Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Medicinesfolklore Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):289.
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicinesfolklore Kala, C. P. et al. 2004. Prioritization of medicinal plants on the basis of available knowledge, existing practices and use value status in Uttaranchal, India. Biodivers. & Conservation 13:459.
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Medicinessource of pharmaceutical agentof colchicineNguyen, P. A. T. et al. 2015. The complete chloroplast genome of colchicine plants (Colchicum autumnale L. and Gloriosa superba L.) and its application for identifying the genus. Planta 242:223-237. DOI: 10.1007/s00425-015-2303-7.
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. 1985. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants Note: poisonous
Weed in AustraliaHosking, J. R. 2002. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=17663. Accessed 11 May 2026.