Gloriosa Superba - 0.5 kg Seeds

Glory Lily (Gloriosa superba), the state flower of Tamil Nadu, is a tuberous, tendril-climbing herb rather than a tree, grown for its spectacular reflexed flowers that shift from greenish-yellow to flame-red. It scrambles over supports using leaf-tip tendrils and dies back to its tubers in the dry season.

Native to tropical Africa and Asia, it is common across the deciduous forests, scrub and farm hedges of peninsular India and is cultivated commercially in Tamil Nadu. The tubers and seeds are an important source of colchicine for the pharmaceutical industry, making it a high-value medicinal crop, while the flamboyant blooms also draw butterflies and make it a striking ornamental climber. All parts are toxic if eaten.

• Family: Colchicaceae
• Native region: tropical Africa & Asia
• Mature height: 2–4 m (scrambling climber)
• Growth rate: fast in season, dormant tubers in dry months

Soak the round, reddish seeds in water for 24–48 hours, changing the water, to break dormancy before sowing about 1–2 cm deep in trays of warm, well-drained mix. Germination is slow and erratic, typically taking 30 or more days at 25–30 °C, so patience and steady moisture are essential. Prick the seedlings into individual pots once established; plants raised from seed take a couple of seasons to build flowering-size tubers.