Garden Notebook

Plants, gardening and good tools, between passion and practice

Scadoxus multiflorus, the blood lily: a firework from Africa

Scadoxus multiflorus, the blood lily: a firework from Africa

Daniel Platteau amaryllidaceae Flower bulbs Poisonous plant

A blood-red pompom that defies appearances

Imagine a bulb that decides to produce the closest thing botany has to a fireworks display: a scarlet sphere the size of a grapefruit, atop a fleshy stalk, made up of dozens or even hundreds of small flowers whose stamens burst out like sparks. This is Scadoxus multiflorus, aptly called the "blood lily" in English, and sometimes the "powderpuff lily".

A double-edged marvel: behind this botanical firework hides a poisonous plant, rich in the alkaloids typical of the Amaryllidaceae, the family that gave us the daffodil and the amaryllis. A hothouse plant for 19th-century collectors and a conservatory plant today, it remains a paradox: one of the most theatrical flowerings you can get in a pot, and a dangerous plant for children and animals who might put its berries or bulb in their mouths. A character worth getting to know before inviting it home!

Botany: a discreet bulb suddenly turned into fireworks

Scadoxus multiflorus belongs to the Amaryllidaceae, a family that also includes amaryllis (Hippeastrum), daffodils and clivias. It shows two typical features of the family: a true bulb, and an umbel-shaped inflorescence, meaning that all the flowers arise from a single point at the top of the stalk, as in the amaryllis or the clivia.

What Scadoxus takes to the extreme is this umbel: it can hold up to two hundred small flowers, each with six narrow tepals and long stamens that extend well beyond the perianth. Hence the famous "pompom", 15 to 25 cm across, in an almost unreal red that catches the light in the undergrowth.

In its natural range, it flowers in the rainy season, often just before or as the leaves appear. In cultivation in our climate, a bulb planted in spring generally flowers in summer. The leaves, broad, oblong and soft green, rise on a plant that is usually 30 to 60 cm tall.

After pollination, the flowers give way to fleshy coral-red berries, which birds spread in the wild but which, in our homes, must be kept out of reach of children and animals. Both bulb and berries contain lycorine-type alkaloids, the chemical signature of the family; we will come back to this, as it is the most serious side of the character.

History: from Haemanthus to Scadoxus

The first European description dates from the late 18th century, under the name Haemanthus multiflorus, given by the English botanist Thomas Martyn. A name that already said it all: Haemanthus comes from the Greek haima, blood, and anthos, flower, and multiflorus means "with many flowers" in Latin, which is putting it mildly!

In 1838, the naturalist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque created the genus Scadoxus for these African bulbs with globe-shaped flower heads, and our plant took its current name, Scadoxus multiflorus (Martyn) Raf. The genus has only about ten species, almost all African, including Scadoxus puniceus, the "paintbrush lily" of southern Africa, with tightly packed flowers surrounded by large red bracts.

Our blood lily occupies a huge range: almost all of tropical Africa, from Senegal to Ethiopia, and south to north-eastern South Africa, with a few populations in the Arabian Peninsula. It grows in wooded savannah, undergrowth and woodland edges, often on soils that dry out in the dry season.

This bulb conquered Europe through collectors' glasshouses, then through the markets of Dutch and South African growers, before becoming a conservatory plant found in spring among the exotic bulbs. You can recognise it by its large bulb, a little like an amaryllis bulb. Some authors distinguish a subspecies, Scadoxus multiflorus subsp. katherinae, taller (often approaching a metre) and more slender, sometimes offered by specialist bulb nurseries.

Growing and care: warmth, drainage, rest

It all comes down to three words: warmth, drainage, rest. As a tropical plant, Scadoxus multiflorus absolutely cannot tolerate frost. In our climate, it is therefore grown in a pot, in a conservatory, a heated greenhouse or a bright flat, and can spend the summer outdoors in a sheltered spot. Planting in the ground is only an option in the mildest climates, against a sheltering wall.

  • Temperature: during growth, avoid nights below 12 to 15 °C; during dormancy, keep it dry and above about 10 °C.
  • Growing medium: rich but perfectly drained, for example bulb compost lightened with coarse sand and perlite or pumice, in a pot wide and deep enough for this large bulb. Plant the bulb with its neck level with the surface.
  • Light: bright light without scorching afternoon sun, or light partial shade, as in the undergrowth.
  • Watering: regular but not excessive during growth and flowering; when the leaves yellow in autumn, cut back sharply and keep the mix almost dry all winter. This dry rest is not optional: it is what prepares the next flowering.
  • Feeding: a liquid fertiliser for flowering plants every three weeks during growth.
  • Repotting: Scadoxus flowers better when slightly pot-bound; repot every two to three years, in spring, separating offsets if you wish.

Problems to watch for: bulb rot when watered during dormancy (by far the most common), mealybugs indoors, and slugs if the plant spends the summer outside.

Toxicity and precautions: the power of alkaloids

This is the most serious chapter of this portrait, because Scadoxus multiflorus is a genuinely poisonous plant, in the Amaryllidaceae tradition. The bulb, and to a lesser extent the other parts including the beautiful red berries, contain alkaloids (lycorine, haemanthamine…) related to those of the daffodil. If swallowed, they can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, and more serious symptoms in large amounts.

The situations to fear involve children attracted by the berries and pets that nibble the leaves. Place the plant out of their reach, wear gloves when handling the bulb, and if ingestion is suspected, contact a poison centre immediately (in Belgium: 070 245 245; elsewhere, your local poison control centre).

This toxicity has not stopped traditional African medicine from using the bulb, in specific preparations. These practices are a reminder that, with poisonous plants, the line between remedy and poison depends on dose and preparation. For the gardener, the conclusion is simple: no self-medication, and a plant to grow for its splendour.

Propagation and buying

Scadoxus multiflorus can be propagated in two ways.

  • By division: the quickest way is to separate the side offsets the mother bulb produces over the years. Take them when repotting in spring; a good-sized offset generally flowers after one to two years.
  • From seed: if you let a stalk carry its berries to maturity, sow the seeds fresh, without letting them dry, on a well-drained mix kept moist and warm. Seed gives vigorous plants, but expect three to five years before the first flowers.

Where can you get bulbs? In spring bulb catalogues (under "exotic bulbs"), in specialist garden centres, from nurseries specialising in Amaryllidaceae and on websites devoted to rare bulbs, often grown in the Netherlands or South Africa. Choose a large, firm bulb with no sign of rot. Besides the species itself, you will sometimes find the subspecies katherinae, which is taller, and related species such as Scadoxus puniceus.

Conclusion: a theatrical plant to adopt with respect

Scadoxus multiflorus sums it all up: outsized, compact, splendid and dangerous. It is one of the most spectacular flowerings you can get from a bulb in a pot: a blood-red pompom of a few dozen to two hundred small flowers, on a plant less than a metre tall. Its conditions: warmth, soft light and a dry winter rest. Its warning, which is essential: keep bulb and berries away from children and animals.

And you — have you ever welcomed this firework into your conservatory?

Sources

Related articles

← Back to articles