710 



ziylanlcum siiperbum) ; Rlieede, Hort. Mai. vii. t. 57 ('' Mendoni ) ; 

 Gaertner, Fruct. Sem. PL i. t. 18; Lam. Eiicj^cl. t. 247; Schnee- 

 voogt, Ic. PI. Rariorum, t. 35; Darwin, Bot. Gdn. ii, p. 14; 

 Andr, Rep. ii. t. 129;- Bot. Reg. (1815), t. 77; Redoute, Choix, 

 FL i. t. 26 {Methonica superba); Savi. Fl. Ital. iii. t. 86; 

 Drapiez. Herb. Amat. de Fleurs. i. t. 7 (Glorieuse du Malabar) ; 

 Geel, Sert. Bot. iii.; Rehb. Exot. i. t. 51; Wight, Ic. PL Ind. 

 Or. t. 2047; Journ. Bombay, N.H. See. vii. 1892, t. F. p. 489; 

 Garden, xxxviii. Dec. 20th, 1890, p. 576; Rev. Hort. Beige, 

 1897, p- 121 ; Le Jardin, 1916, p. 85, f. 26. 



Vernac names. — [Bauraira, Gatarin Kureje (Sokoto), Gudu- 

 mar Zomo (Kano) Hausa, Dalziel]; Olodi (Aguku, S. Nigeria, 

 jTAoma^) ; Marathi (India, Kirtihar). 



Old Calabar, Nux^e, Zungera, and throughout Nigeria: also 

 in the Cameroons, Gambia, Congo, Togoland, Nyasaland and 

 in Tropical Asia; Lee^A^ard Islands, West Indies (Kew Bull. 1891, 

 p. 114). 



The tuber is poisonous, stated to contain two resins, a tannin 

 and a bitter principle called " superbine " — alKed to the bitter 

 principle of *' Squill " {Urginea maritima), not infrequently 

 employed for suicidal purposes (Green & Tutin, Pharm. Journ. 

 xL 1915, p. 746); one of the 9 secondary poisons mentioned by 

 Hindu writers; very few cases of poisoning are on record, but 

 the plant is well known all over the country (India) as a virulent 

 poison, although it is said to be useful in fevers as an antiperiodic 

 {Kirtikar, Journ. Bombay N.H. Soc. vii. p. 492), 



The plant is well known for its ornamental character^ the 

 tubers being often sold by nurserymen in tliis country — to which 

 it was introduced by Mr. Bentinck, afterwards Lord Portland, in 

 1690 (Bot, Reg, Lc). It is a herbaceous perennial, climbing over 

 the bushes, amongst which it usually grows, by means of the 

 tendrils at the ends of the leaves, very suggestive of *' honey- 

 suckle." and the name " African honeysuckle " has been heard 

 applied to it. Propagated by tubers, the long stems — 8-10 ft. 

 high, and sarmentose branches requiring some support. 



Ref. — " Gloriosa superba^ Linn., Marathi " (The Poisonous 

 Plants of Bombay), Kirtikar, in Journ. Bombay Nat, Hist. Soc. 



vii. 1892, pp. 489-493. " The Constituents of Gloriosa 



^tiperba/' Clewer, Green & Tutin, No. 169, The Wellcome 

 Chemical Research Laboratories ; reprint from Trans. Chem, 

 Soc. cviL 1915, pp, 835-846 and in Pharm. Journ. [4] xL May 29th, 

 1915, p. 746. — " Glwiosa superba : Its Poisonous Constituents, 

 Pyman, in Chemist & Druggist, July 31st, 1915, p. 164. 



Glodosa virescens, Lindl. ; FL Trop. Afr. VII. p. 563. 



7ZZ.— Bot. Mag. t. 2539, t. 4938, t. 6216 (Methonica grandi- 

 Jlora^ Hook, = var. gra^idiflm'a , Baker) ; FL des Serres, ix. 



(1853-54), t. 865 (var. Plantii); FL des Serres, ii. (1846), tt. 



163-164 {Methonica Leopoldi, Lem. = var. grandiflora. Baker); 



111. Hort. viii. 1861, t. 273 {Methonica grandiflora = var. grandi- 

 flora, Baker) ; Peters, Mozamb. t. 54 {Methonica Petersiana), 



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