Colchicaceae

Gloriosa superba

Common Names: Glory lily

Plant Form: Perennial climbing or scrambling herb. Size: Up to 4 m long. Stem: Branched, with slender tendrils. Leaves: Smooth, shiny, spear shaped 6-20 cm long, with many parallel veins and tendrils at tip, on stalks growing from leaf forks. Flowers: 6 petals, bright red and yellow or orange, upwardly bent to form cup-like shape up to 8 cm long, above 6 stamens arranged in circular pattern. Fruit and Seeds: Green capsule ripening to brown or black. 4-10 cm long, in 3 segments which split when ripe. Seeds orange turning brown and hardening when ripe. Habitat: Coastal dunes, scrub and headlands, littoral rainforest. Distinguishing Features: Distinct flowers and growth habit. Impacts: Outcompetes and replaces native flora, toxic to humans and possibly birds through seed consumption, possibly allelopathic.

leaf tips are tendrils

Flowers have wavy reflexed petals

Often rambling in the understorey

Seed pod and seeds