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.
