FAMILY OF THE WEEK:LILIACEAE

[satish phadke]

Gloriosa


Allium cepa


Asparagus


Scila hyacinthina


Cholrophytum


Iphiginia


Tulip

FAMILY OF THE WEEK:LILIACEAE
A large family widely distributed in most parts of the world. In India there are 35 genera and 189 species majority of them occurring chiefly in the Himalayas.
Vegetative characters:
They are mostly perennial herbs persisting by means of a sympodial rhizome or by a bulb. Sometimes as in Asparagus they are annual herbs.
Yucca, Dracaena and Aloe are shrubby or treelike with a perennial aerial stem growing in thickness by successive rings of meristem. The species of Smilax and Heterosmilax are woody climbers with often prickly stem. They climb with the help of stipular tendrils which arise from the leaf sheath.
The species of Asparagus are rhizomatous plants with herbaceous or woody erect straggling or climbing stems. The leaves are reduced to tiny scales and the ultimate branches become needle like or flattened. These cladodes take up the function of the leaves. Gloriosa is a perennial tuberous herb with a climbing stem. The climbing is affected by the leaf tip which elongates to form a spiral.
The leaves are basal(Allium,Lilium) or cauline. They are usually alternate, rarely opposite(Gloriosa) or whorled. They vary in shape from linear to broadly ovate. They are fleshy in Aloe with a large water storing tissue. The venation is parallel but in Smilax the leaves are net-veined. In Asparagus the leaves are reduced to minute scales.
Inflorescence and flowers:
Flowers are born in simple or branched racemes. They form apparent umbel in Alium subtended by spathe like bracts. In Yucca The inflorescence is a huge terminal panicle. Sometimes the flowers are solitary terminal as in Lilium.
The flowers are often showy,bisexual, actinomorphic or slightly zygomorphic, usually trimerous and hypogynous.
The perianth is of six tepals arranged in two whorls.They are free or united. The perianth segments are usually petalloid and the two whorls are generally undifferentiated.
Androecium is usually of six stamens in two whorls.The filaments are free or variably connate. The anthers are basifixed, dithecous,introrse or extrorse.
The gynoecium is tricarpellary and syncarpous with a superior and trilocular ovary. The style is usually one with three distinct stigmas. Usually the ovary has three septal nectaries.
The fruit is usually a loculicidal or septicidal capsule or sometimes a berry as in Smilax and polygonatum.
Pollination: Showy fragrant flowers and nectaries are for insect pollination.
Examples:
The family provides several food,drug and fibre plants and many genera are important as ornamentals.
Allium cepa(Onion.Piyaz,kanda)
Allium sativum(Garlic, Lasun)
Asparagus officinalis (Garden asparagus) Fleshy shoots as vegetables.
Asparagus plumosus : several varieties cultivated as ornamentals.
Aloe vera (Korphad)
Scilla hyacinthina (South Indian Squill)
Smilax
Gloriosa superba (Glory lily,Kal-lawi)
Iphigenia indica :Flowers yield red dye.
Lilium(Lily) They rank high among bulbous ornamentals.L.giganteum;L.candidum.
Yucca Tulipa (Tulip)
Dracaena.

http://satishphadke.blogspot.com/

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Thanks for this information. In my region Gloriosa is known as Jhaghadhin i.e. plant that brings family tension (Jhagda) when planted in home. Natives avoid to plant it in home garden.Through my series on Blind Faith I have tried to search answer of this belief. Here is link for this Hindi article.

http://aarambha.blogspot.com/2007/12/chhattisgarh-1.html


Pankaj Oudhia

[satish phadke]

Gloriosa superba
This plant is called as Agnishikha (Meaning Fire at the apex)looks of the flower or Kal-lawi in Marathi. The second name is because of its supposed properties of inducing Uterine contractions in Pregnancy. You must be knowing its use in stimulating labour pains.
Satish

[satish phadke]

Oh suddenly on reading I understood that Kal means pains or trouble so Kal-Lawi might also indicate Jhaghada inducing!
Satish

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Thanks. Yes our Traditional Healers are aware of it but they prefer use of Achyranthes aspera for this purpose as Gloriosa is considered toxic. Its another name in Hindi is Kalihari or Kalahkari. Here is link to my research articles on this plant.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleList&Author=oudhia&Text=kalihari


regards

Pankaj Oudhia

[satish phadke]

Oh that is interesting

Satish

[Pankaj Oudhia]

I have read somewhere that Gloriosa is favorite plant of LTTE (Srilanka). Its toxic roots are kept in suicide capsule.

Our Traditional Healers consider it as Sanjeevani Booti. Along with other herbs they use it in treatment of lethal injuries due to poisonous arrow. In early days when wars through arrows were common this herb was in much demand by expert Healers. Now it is in use in treatment of different types of cancer.

 Snake charmer as well as experts always keep it with them and on Rishi Panchami when they swallow snake venom, Gloriosa based combination is taken to nullify its harmful effects. 

In organic farming of medicinal and aromatic crops specially in cultivation of Ambrette and Mucuna we suggest our farmers to plant it in boundary in order to repel away insects.

It possess Colchicine and around the world used for Gout.

Pankaj Oudhia 

[Mahadeswara Swamy]

One can see plenty of  naturally grown Gloriosa superba  on the East Coast Road ( west of ECR in the scrub jungles) of Chennai.
Dr.Mahadeswara swamy

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