Blood Lily Facts
- The unique and truly remarkable Blood Lily represents a rather fascinating plant that has a background that may surprise you. But, it also has several other common names. among others, these include the fireball lily, the Katherine-wheel, the oxtongue lily, the poison root, and the powderpuff lily. It also goes by the cumbersome scientific name of Scadoxus multiflorus.
- Further, this highly remarkable species actually lists as a member of the Amaryllis family. In fact, actually it ranks as the most widely spread species of its family. Because of its unique appearance, it makes for a beautiful ornamental plant, often used by gardeners for that exact purpose. Furthermore, Indigenous People have long used the plant in native medicines which.
- For the moment, the remarkable Blood Lily appears to have a sufficient and reasonably stable population throughout its range. Therefore, the IUCN currently has no listing for it on its Red List of Threatened Species. Nonetheless, given the delicate nature of its habitat, it could potentially be at risk. Likely, its greatest threat consists of the perils of ongoing climate change.
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Blood Lily Physical Description
The truly stunning Blood Lily evolved a highly fascinating physical characteristic. That occurs due to the fact that the remarkable plant constitutes both a perennial and an evergreen. As a result of this, specimens grow from either rhizomes or bulbs. Individuals sometimes attain a height of nearly 10 in (25.4 cm).
Yet it has other sights to offer. For one, the leaves grow large and thin, and remain green throughout the year. In addition, the flower heads develop quite uniquely, and typically develop a bright red color, thus the common name. Each head also consists of nearly 200 small flowers. Furthermore, each plant grows one head only.
However, the gorgeous Blood Lily has one failing. That’s the fact that the bloom, unfortunately, has a short lifespan of fewer than two weeks. In addition, many berries develop after the bloom. These most commonly remain small and relatively numerous. The berries begin as green and slowly redden.
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Angiosperms
- Class: Monocots
- Order: Asparagales
- Family: Amaryllidaceae
- Genus: Scaxodus
- Species: S. multiflorus
Blood Lily Distribution, Habitat, and Ecology
The fabulously amazing plant known commonly as the Blood Lily evolved as native a surprising habitat range. That’s because the fascinating flora evolved as native to certain moderately arid sections of the globe. More specifically, this beautiful variety of flora appears in both sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The actions of man have also now spread it all the way to Mexico.
Furthermore, even within this territory, the fascinating plant has decidedly specific preferences for its choice of habitat. These preferences consist primarily of regions appearing at either low or medium altitudes. Furthermore, inside of those ranges, it develops in regions including woodlands, secondary forests, montane grasslands, savannas, and even coastal scrub.
In this manner, the gorgeous Blood Lily perfectly displays the great degree of adaptability Nature blessed it with. Further, this Angiosperm actually develops in different ways in the different habitats. First of all, the plants appearing in temperate regions generally spread via bulbs. Meanwhile, the tropical populations generally spread via rhizomes, and usually appear in well-drained areas.
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Hello. I have a blood lilly growing in a pot. This is the 3rd year it has bloomed and I had one flower so far and have 2 other shoots coming up. My question is what kind of light they should be in. They get morning sun right now but seems like the shooting up and flowering is very slow. Also, how much water do they need? I would appreciate any insight you could give me. I live in Central Florida, close to the Atlantic.
Thank you.
M. Miller
Hello Michele,
Thank you for the question. The Blood Lily can be…variable. Most individuals do well in either partial shade or full sunlight. You might try relocating your specimen to different areas with differing levels of light, and gauge the results to find the best spot for your particular plant.
As to the amount of water to use; they thrive with well-drained soils, so look into that situation. In addition, these plants require very rich soil. Have you tried mixing a small amount of compost or manure to augment their conditions?
We hope these thoughts help, and let us know how it turns out!
OBP