Flame Lily

Context: The commercial cultivation of flame lily had attracted many in Tamil Nadu since the 1980s as a kilogram of the seeds of the flower, with its therapeutic properties, fetched up to ₹8,000 in a pharmaceutical-driven market. That’s no longer the case at present.

About flame lily

• Flame lily occupies a special place in Tamil literature.
• The Sangam-era poet, Kapilar, refers to it in his Kurinchipattu that describes the landscape of the mountainous terrain.
• When the State of Tamil Nadu was formed in 1956, flame lily was named as its official flower.
• It is also known as: Gloriosa superba/Kanvali kizhangu/Karthigaipoo/Senkanthalpoo
• It is commonly found in scrubland, forests, thickets and even sand dunes.
• Both the roots and the seeds are important pharmaceutical ingredients in indigenous Indian and African medicine.
• They have been part of therapies to treat or manage ailments such as cancer, gout, arthritis, leprosy and dyspepsia.

Source: The Hindu