Glory lily
General poisoning notes:
Glory lily (Gloriosa superba) is a rarely grown indoor ornamental vine best suited to greenhouses. Ingesting the tubers causes severe poisoning in humans. The plant contains two alkaloids, including colchicine, which cause severe gastroenteritis, vomiting, and possible unconciousness. Severe hair loss is a consistent symptom of colchicine poisoning. Complete recovery is slow (Gooneratne 1966, Angunawela and Fernando 1971, Lampe and McCann 1985).
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Gloriosa superba L.
Vernacular name(s): glory lily
Scientific family name: Liliaceae
Vernacular family name: lily
Gloriosa superba L.
Geographic Information
Plant or plant parts used in or around the home.
Toxic parts:
Tubers
Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
Two alkaloids, colchicine and gloriosine, are found in the tubers of glory lily. In one case, a young women ingested 125 g of tubers containing 0.3% colchicine. She ingested the equivalent of 350 mg of colchicine and within 2 h she was vomiting, becoming unconscious by the next day (Gooneratne 1966).
Toxic plant chemicals:
Colchicine, gloriosine
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.
Humans
General symptoms of poisoning:
Alopecia, dehydration, diarrhea, hemoglobinuria, unconsciousness, vomiting, weakness.
Notes on poisoning:
Ingesting the tubers causes severe vomiting, abdominal pain, severe and bloody diarrhea, vaginal bleeding, weakness, and retention of urine and waste. Swelling of the lower or upper limbs may occur. Partial to complete hair loss occurs, sometimes on all parts of the body. Recover is slow, because colchicine is slowly secreted from the system. Treatment includes fluid retention, monitoring of renal function and blood pressure, and treatment for diarrhea (Gooneratne 1966, Angunawela and Fernando 1971, Lampe and McCann 1985).
