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Crinum asiaticum
Also called Asiatic Poisonbulb, Tree Crinum
In Singapore: Seashore Lily, Poison Bulb, Bakung, Crinum Lily, Asiatic Poison Lily, Spider Lily, Seashore Crinum, Bawang Hutan, 文殊兰, Han Ire Crinum Lily, Japanese Crinum Lily, Bakong (Malay), Striped Bengal Lily, Variegated Grand Crinum Lily (Native to Singapore, Critically Endangered)
Poisonbulb is a large, bulb-forming perennial with fragrant white spider-like flowers in umbels, widely grown as an ornamental in warm regions. Give it a sunny, warm spot with moist soil and a well-drained, sandy or loamy mix; keep it away from children and pets since the whole plant is poisonous.
Crinum asiaticum, commonly known as poison bulb, giant crinum lily, grand crinum lily, or spider lily, is a plant species widely planted in many warmer regions as an ornamental. It is a bulb-forming perennial producing an umbel of large, showy flowers that are prized by gardeners. However, all parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested. Some reports indicate exposure to the sap may cause skin irritation.
Crinum asiaticum is native to East Asia, tropical Asia, Australia and islands of the Pacific and western Indian oceans. It is naturalized in Mexico, the West Indies, the US (Florida and Louisiana), numerous Pacific islands, Madagascar and the Chagos Archipelago.
The entire plant is toxic, especially the bulb. It contains a variety of alkaloids such as lycorine and tazettine. When eaten, it can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, constipation, irregular breathing, rapid pulse, fever, etc.; sufficient misuse can cause nervous system paralysis and death.
The Tao people indigenous to Taiwan's Orchid Island uses slices of its stem (known as vakong) tied to a heavy object to bait fish going into their nets. The Paiwan and Puyuma peoples use this plant (livakong) as a natural boundary plant.
Hardy swamplily · Crinum calamistratum · Pyjama lily · Inanda Lily · Onion Plant · Swamplily
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Crinum asiaticum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
