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Schoenocaulon officinale

Schoenocaulon officinale
Photo: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain

Schoenocaulon officinale, called sabadilla, is a bulbous plant from Mexico, Central America and Venezuela, grown mainly for its seeds, which contain potent alkaloids. It is rarely grown as an ornamental and is best treated as a specialist plant in a warm, dry, sunny spot.

Family
Melanthiaceae (Melanthi family)
Grows as
Bulb
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly during the growing season and keep almost dry while dormant.
Soil
Fast-draining sandy or gritty mix.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: Seeds and all parts contain veratridine, cevadine and other alkaloids that are highly toxic if eaten or absorbed.
Native range
Mexico to Venezuela
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Schoenocaulon officinale, called sabadilla, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Schoenocaulon, native to Mexico, Central America, and Venezuela. It is highly toxic, containing veratridine, cevadine, and other alkaloids. Its seeds were used by pharmacists around the world to prepare delousing solutions and insecticides. It is still collected and used locally to rid domestic animals of fleas, ticks, lice and other parasites, and attempts are being made to revive the industry.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Schoenocaulon officinale 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.

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