Family:
Amaryllidaceae J.St.-Hil.
Genus:
Scadoxus Raf.

Scadoxus puniceus (L.) Friis & Nordal

This species is accepted, and its native range is Ethiopia to S. Africa.

[FTEA]

Amaryllidaceae, Inger Nordal (University of Oslo). Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1982

Morphology General Habit
Herb up to 75 cm. tall, with rhizomatous bulb.
Morphology Leaves
Petioles forming a false stem 5–50 cm. long; leaf-blade lanceolate to ovate, acute to acuminate, basally attenuate; leaves often produced some time after anthesis.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Scape
Scape (15–) 20–40 (–75) cm. long; false stem and scape often spotted brown-red to dark violet.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Involucral bracts intact and erect during anthesis, lanceolate to spathulate or rhombic, sometimes hastate, (2.5–)3–8.5 cm. long, (0.7–)1–3.5 (–4) cm. broad, red (in East Africa) to brown, violet or even green.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence conical, ±(20–) 30–100-flowered.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels 1–2.5(–3.5)cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
Perianth colour pink to scarlet, outside East Africa also yellow-green and greenish pink, segments often paler than filaments; perianth-tube cylindrical, 0.3–1.2 cm. long; segments erect to somewhat patent, linear, 1.3–2.7 cm. long, 0.7–2(–2.5) mm. broad, (1–)3(–5)-nerved.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Filaments filiform, 1.5–3.5 cm. long at anthesis, anthers 1–3 mm. long, red or yellow.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Berries 5–10 mm. in diameter.
Habitat
Montane forests, stream valleys or swamps on ground or epiphytic; 2000–2700 m. Outside East Africa also in drier vegetation types and at lower altitudes.
Distribution
T4 T7

[FZ]

Flora Zambesiaca Amaryllidaceae by C. Zimudzi, R.H. Archer, E.G. Kwembeya & I. Nordal

Morphology General Habit
Bulbous herb up to 60 cm tall with a pseudostem 3–10 cm long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves ovate to ovate lanceolate, acute to almost obtuse, basally attenuate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Scape
Scape up to 36 cm long; involucral bracts intact and erect at anthesis, lanceolate or obovate, ± hastate, 3.6–5.9(7.6) × 1.6–3.2(5.8) cm, reddish to brownish.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence conical, (16)66–150 flowered.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
Perianth tube 0.4–0.6 cm long; segments greenish to reddish, linear, 11–15 × 0.6–1 mm, erect, most often 1-nerved.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels (0.8)2–3(3.8) cm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Filaments
Filaments 1.4–2.1 cm long at anthesis; anthers 1–1.6(2.6) mm long, yellowish in colour.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Berries red, up to 1 cm in diameter.
Distribution
A heterogenous and widespread species with a disjunct distribution in southern Africa north to Ethiopia.
Ecology
Occurs in woodland and forest; 10–1400 m.
Conservation
Conservation notes: Moderately widespread; not threatened. Considered Data Deficient in Zimbabwe (Sabonet Red Data List 2002).

Native to:

Botswana, Cape Provinces, Ethiopia, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Mozambique, Northern Provinces, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Scadoxus puniceus (L.) Friis & Nordal appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
15601.000
Gumbleton [s.n.], South Africa K000366067 holotype
Krelage [s.n.], South Africa K000366066 lectotype
Strickland, C.W. [s.n.], South Africa K000366065 syntype
Scheepers, J.C. [771], South Africa K000366063 isoneotype
Scheepers, J.C. [771], South Africa K000366064 isoneotype
Brown, G. [114], Tanzania Haemanthus goetzei 42900.000

First published in Norweg. J. Bot. 23: 64 (1976)

Accepted by

  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Demissew, S. & Nordal, I. (2010). Aloes and other Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea, ed, 2: 1-351. Shama Books, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Nordal, I. (1982). Amaryllidaceae Flora of Tropical East Africa: 1-30.
  • Timberlake, J.R. & Martins, E.S. (eds.) (2008). Flora Zambesiaca 13(1): 1-140. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Zimudzi, C., Archer, R.H., Kwembeya, E.G. & Nordal, I. (2006). Synopsis of Amaryllidaceae from the Flora Zambesiaca area Kirkia. The Zimbabwe Journal of Botany 18: 151-168.

Literature

Flora Zambesiaca

  • in Fl. Ethiopia 6: 158 (1997).
  • in Norw. J. Bot. 23: 64 (1976).
  • ―Nordal in F.T.E.A, Amaryllidaceae: 5 (1982);

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Edwards, S., Demissew, S. & Hedberg, I. (eds.) (1997). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 6: 1-586. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
  • Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Nordal, I. (1982). Amaryllidaceae Flora of Tropical East Africa: 1-30.
  • Zimudzi, C., Archer, R.H., Kwembeya, E.G. & Nordal, I. (2006). Synopsis of Amaryllidaceae from the Flora Zambesiaca area Kirkia. The Zimbabwe Journal of Botany 18: 151-168.

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Friis & Nordal in Norw. Journ. Bot. 23:64(1976).

  • Art and Illustrations in Digifolia

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0