Scadoxus multiflorus, Blood lily, കുടമുല്, ว่านแสงอาทิตย์, Hồng tú cầu, Ail rouge, Mumhandwe

Scadoxus multiflorus (Martyn) Raf.
Family: Amaryllidaceae

Synonyms: Haemanthus multiflorus, Amaryllis multiflora (Martyn) Tratt.,  Haemanthus abyssinicus Herb.,  Haemanthus andrei De Wild.,  Haemanthus arabicus M.Roem.,  Haemanthus arnoldianus De Wild. & T.Durand,  Haemanthus bequaertii De Wild.,  Haemanthus bivalvis Beck,  Haemanthus cecilae Baker,  Haemanthus colchicifolius Salisb.,  Haemanthus cruentatus Schumach. & Thonn.,  Haemanthus delagoensis Herb.,  Haemanthus eurysiphon Harms,  Haemanthus filiflorus Baker ex Hiern,  Haemanthus kalbreyeri Baker,  Haemanthus lynesii Stapf,  Haemanthus micrantherus Pax,  Haemanthus mildbraedii Perkins, Haemanthus nicholsonii Baker,  Haemanthus otaviensis Dinter,  Haemanthus rupestris Baker,  Haemanthus sacculus E.Phillips,  Haemanthus sacculus Phillips,  Haemanthus seretii De Wild.,  Haemanthus somaliensis Baker,  Haemanthus tenuiflorus Herb,  Haemanthus tenuiflorus var. coccineus Hook.f.,  Haemanthus tenuiflorus var. mocambicensis Herb.,  Haemanthus zambesiacus Baker,  Nerissa multiflorus (Martyn) Salisb.  ,  Scadoxus multiflorus subsp. multiflorus,

English: Common fireball, Blood lily
Malayalam: കുടമുല്ല
Thai: ว่านแสงอาทิตย์
Ukranian: Скадоксус багатоквітковий
Vietnamese: Hồng tú cầu
Chinese: 网球花
Finnish: Loistotupsu
French: Ail rouge
Shona: Mumhandwe

Description: Perennial herb, growing from a large bulb. The plants die back every year and usually flower before the leaves fully develop. A single spherical inflorescence, containing up to 150 individual flowers, is borne on a fleshy stem.

Bulbs reported as being very poisonous. The juice of Haemanthus multiflorus is supposed to produce dangerous, swelling of the lips and tongue, salivation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. These alkaloids are highly toxic and their indiscriminate use is potentially lethal. Known to be lethal to stock mainly goats and sheep, and the leaves appear to have exactly the same toxic effects as the bulb. Bulb used for, cough and snakebite; pounded leaves for diarrhea and dysentery; roots powder for wounds, ulcers; boiled root infusion against child cough. Used in conjunction with a number of, other plants, as an arrow poison, the bulbs are used to make, a fishing poison; also used to treat dropsy, scabies and poorly healing wounds. [CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants]

Used in Scabies, poultice for local inflammation ( Handbook of African Medicinal Plants, Second Edition)

7 Published articles:


1.    Crystal structure determination and inhibition studies of a novel xylanase and alpha-amylase inhibitor protein (XAIP) from Scadoxus multiflorus Kumar, S., et al., Febs Journal, 2010. 277(13): p. 2868-2882.
2.    Kumar, S., Modulation of inhibitory activity of xylanase - alpha-amylase inhibitor protein (XAIP): binding studies and crystal structure determination of XAIP- II from Scadoxus multiflorus at 1.2 angstrom resolution, Bmc Structural Biology, 2010. 10.
3.    Growing degree-day requirements for scheduling flowering of Scadoxus multiflorus subsp katharinae (Baker) Friis & Nordal Funnell, K.A., Hortscience, 2008. 43(1): p. 166-169.
4.    The response of blood-lily, Scadoxus multiflorus ssp katherinae, to daylength, shade, and other production variables Garofalo, J. F., W.A. Vendrame, and Fshs, in Proceedings of the 118th Annual Meeting of the Florida State Horticultural Society. 2005. p. 363-364.
5.    2-ORTHO-ACETYL CHLIDANTHINE - AN ALKALOID FROM HAEMANTHUS-MULTIFLORUS Abdallah, O.M., A.A. Ali, and H. Itokawa, Phytochemistry, 1989. 28(11): p. 3248-3249.
6.    CYTOTAXONOMIC SURVEY OF SOME TROPICAL ORNAMENTAL SPECIES .3. HAEMANTHUS-MULTIFLORUS MARTYN (AMARYLLIDACEAE) Nwankiti, O.C., Cytologia, 1984. 49(3): p. 497-500.
7.    UBER AMARYLLIDACEEN-ALKALOIDE .23. ALKALOIDE VON HAEMANTHUS-MULTIFLORUS Boit, H.G. and W. Dopke, Chemische Berichte-Recueil, 1958. 91(9): p. 1965-1967.

1.    Crystal structure determination and inhibition studies of a novel xylanase and alpha-amylase inhibitor protein (XAIP) from Scadoxus multiflorus Kumar, S., et al., Febs Journal, 2010. 277(13): p. 2868-2882.
2.    Kumar, S., Modulation of inhibitory activity of xylanase - alpha-amylase inhibitor protein (XAIP): binding studies and crystal structure determination of XAIP- II from Scadoxus multiflorus at 1.2 angstrom resolution, Bmc Structural Biology, 2010. 10.
3.    Growing degree-day requirements for scheduling flowering of Scadoxus multiflorus subsp katharinae (Baker) Friis & Nordal Funnell, K.A., Hortscience, 2008. 43(1): p. 166-169.
4.    The response of blood-lily, Scadoxus multiflorus ssp katherinae, to daylength, shade, and other production variables Garofalo, J. F., W.A. Vendrame, and Fshs, in Proceedings of the 118th Annual Meeting of the Florida State Horticultural Society. 2005. p. 363-364.
5.    2-ORTHO-ACETYL CHLIDANTHINE - AN ALKALOID FROM HAEMANTHUS-MULTIFLORUS Abdallah, O.M., A.A. Ali, and H. Itokawa, Phytochemistry, 1989. 28(11): p. 3248-3249.
6.    CYTOTAXONOMIC SURVEY OF SOME TROPICAL ORNAMENTAL SPECIES .3. HAEMANTHUS-MULTIFLORUS MARTYN (AMARYLLIDACEAE) Nwankiti, O.C., Cytologia, 1984. 49(3): p. 497-500.
7.    UBER AMARYLLIDACEEN-ALKALOIDE .23. ALKALOIDE VON HAEMANTHUS-MULTIFLORUS Boit, H.G. and W. Dopke, Chemische Berichte-Recueil, 1958. 91(9): p. 1965-1967.