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Scadoxus
Scadoxus is a genus of African and Arabian plants in the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. The English names blood lily or blood flower are used for some of the species. The genus has close affinities with Haemanthus. Species of Scadoxus are grown as ornamental plants for their brilliantly coloured flowers, either in containers or in the ground in frost-free climates. Although some species have been used in traditional medicine, they contain poisonous alkaloids.
The cultivation of Scadoxus species has been described by Jonathan Hutchinson, the UK National Plant Collection holder for the genus. All species occur naturally in areas of summer rainfall, and in cultivation tend to start in growth in spring after a period of winter dormancy. The three species found in South Africa, S. multiflorus, S. puniceus and S. membranaceous, are the most widely cultivated, being tolerant of winter temperatures down to 5 °C (41 °F). S. multiflorus subsp. multiflorus is cultivated for sale in large quantities by the Dutch nursery industry.
The tropical species require a minimum temperature of at least 10 °C (50 °F), thriving in a warm, humid atmosphere. An open organic potting medium, similar to that used for orchids, suits all species. A coarse mix with considerable air spaces is particularly important for epiphytic species such as S. nutans.
The genus Scadoxus is known to have some strongly toxic species, containing poisonous alkaloids. These are lethal to animals, such as sheep and goats, that graze on the leaves or bulbs. Scadoxus multiflorus and Scadoxus cinnabarinus are traditionally used in parts of tropical Africa as components of arrow poisons and fishing poisons. Both species, as well as Scadoxus puniceus in South Africa, are used in traditional medicine.
The genus as a whole is distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Arabian Peninsula. It has been introduced into parts of Mexico. The most widely distributed species is Scadoxus multiflorus, whose subspecies S. m. subsp. multiflorus is found throughout tropical and southern Africa and is the only member of the genus found in the Arabian Peninsula. By contrast, Scadoxus cyrtanthiflorus is found only in the Rwenzori Mountains on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Forest Fireball Lily · Rwenzori Bloodlily · Scadoxus longifolius · Dwarf Paintbrush Lily · Bloodlily · Scadoxus nutans · Pungwe Lily · Scadoxus pseudocaulus · Royal Paintbrush
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Scadoxus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
