The umbel is made up of 10–25 individual flowers, each on a {{convert|15|–|35|mm|abbr=on|1}} long pedicel (flower stalk). The flowers are directed downwards, unusually for the genus (only Scadoxus nutans shares this characteristic, but in this case the scape bends over[4]). The colour of the flowers varies from a greenish tube, {{convert|25|–|40|mm|abbr=on|1}} long, formed by the fused bases of the tepals, through white to salmon pink or scarlet at their {{convert|10|–|15|mm|abbr=on|1}} long free tips. The filaments of the stamens are flattened and do not protrude from the flowers (another difference from most other species of Scadoxus). The fruit is a berry, {{convert|15|–|20|mm|abbr=on|1}} across.
Taxonomy
Scadoxus cyrtanthiflorus was first collected in 1895 by the South African botanist George F. Scott-Elliott. However, his specimen was poorly preserved and it was based on a later collection that Charles Henry Wright described and named the species as Haemanthus cyrtanthiflorus in 1906.[2][4] The specific epithet cyrtanthiflorus means "flowers like Cyrtanthus".
Scadoxus was originally separated from Haemanthus by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1838,[10] when he moved Haemanthus multiflorus to Scadoxus multiflorus.[11] This separation was ignored by most workers until 1976, when Scadoxus was again segregated from Haemanthus by Friis and Nordal. Haemanthus species are southern in distribution, form true bulbs and have 2n = 16 chromosomes, whereas Scadoxus species, such as S. cyrtanthiflorus, are found throughout tropical Africa, do not all form bulbs and have 2n = 18 chromosomes.[12]Distribution and habitat
Scadoxus cyrtanthiflorus is endemic to the Rwenzori Mountains on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It grows at altitudes of between {{convert|1600|–|3200|m|ft|abbr=on|-2}}, but is mostly found at around {{convert|2000|–|2400|m|ft|abbr=on|-2}}. Plants normally grow in constantly moist, shady habitats in forest undergrowth, either in the ground in highly organic soils, as epiphytes on tree trunks or on rocks and boulders.[4]Cultivation
In 2004, S. cyrtanthiflorus was said to be unknown in cultivation,[14] although in 1928 it had received an RHS Award of Merit. In 2014, it was among those described as "becoming more widely grown."[4] In cultivation, S. cyrtanthiflorus is said to grow "well, if quite slowly, with most growth being in spring and autumn."[4] The recommended potting medium is a very open organic mix, as would be used for orchids. Pests are those of Scadoxus generally.[4]
Toxicity
The genus Scadoxus is known to have some strongly toxic species, containing poisonous alkaloids. These are lethal to animals, such as sheep and goats, that graze on the plants. Other species of Scadoxus have been used in parts of tropical Africa as components of arrow poisons and fishing poisons.[18]
References
1. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 7 {{Cite journal |last=Hutchinson |first=J. |year=2014 |title=Scadoxus of central and east Africa |journal=The Plantsman |series=New Series |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=36–42 }}
2. ^1 {{cite web |url=http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=66762-1 |title=Plant Name Details |accessdate=2008-05-06 |last=International Organization for Plant Information (IOPI) |work=International Plant Names Index }}
3. ^1 {{Cite journal |last=Meerow |first=Alan W. |last2=Clayton |first2=Jason R. |year=2004 |title=Generic relationships among the baccate-fruited Amaryllidaceae (tribe Haemantheae) inferred from plastid and nuclear non-coding DNA sequences |journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution |volume=244 |issue=3-4 |pages=141–155 |doi=10.1007/s00606-003-0085-z |lastauthoramp=yes |url=https://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=2422&content=PDF }}
4. ^1 {{Cite web |title=Scadoxus multiflorus (Martyn) Raf. subsp. katharinae (Bak.) Friis & Nordal |publisher=South African National Biodiversity Institute |url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantqrs/scadoxkath.htm |accessdate=2014-03-25 }}
5. ^1 {{Cite journal |last=Rafinesque-Smaltz |first=C.S. |year=1838 |title=Flora Telluriana |publication-place=Philadelphia |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7430162 |accessdate=2014-03-25 |at=[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7430513 part 4, p. 19]}}
6. ^1 {{cite web |url=http://www.shieldsgardens.com/amaryllids/Scadoxus.html |title=The Amaryllis Family: Scadoxus |accessdate=2008-05-07 | first1=James E. |last1=Shields |date=2004-01-31 }}
7. ^1 {{cite web |url=http://www.systbot.unizh.ch/datenbanken/rwenzori/Rwenzori_desktop.pdf |title=Common plants of the Rwenzori, particularly the upper zones |accessdate=2008-05-06 |last1=Linder |first1=H. Peter| last2=Gehrke |first2=Berit |date=2 March 2006 |publisher = Institute for Systematic Botany, University of Zurich |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530005602/http://www.systbot.unizh.ch/datenbanken/rwenzori/Rwenzori_desktop.pdf |archivedate=2008-05-30 |lastauthoramp=yes}}
8. ^1 2 {{Citation |mode=cs1 |contribution=Scadoxus cyrtanthiflorus|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |contribution-url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=287364 |accessdate=2014-03-30}}
9. ^1 {{Citation |mode=cs1 |contribution=Scadoxus multiflorus|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |contribution-url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=287367 |accessdate=2014-03-25 }}