Boophone disticha

Description

Boophone disticha is readily identified by its fan-like appearance of two tightly packed rows of about fifteen leaves in each row, and its up to 30 cm diameter bulb half-protruding from the ground. It produces a single inflorescence, an umbel of about fifty pink, six-petaled flowers, before the arrival of the season's new leaves. While maturing the fruiting head's pedicels undergo a stiffening process and remarkable elongation to some 30 cm. When the fruiting head separates at its junction with the stalk, it forms a tumbleweed, easily moved by light breezes, scattering seeds as it rolls.

Taxonomy

Boophone disticha was first collected from South Africa by Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg and described by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1782 as Amaryllis disticha.

Distribution and habitat

Boophone disticha is native from south Sudan to South Africa. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa (in the provinces of Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Western Cape), Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It grows wild in dry savannas, grasslands, and glades in forests.

Uses

The bulb of Boophone disticha has a wide range of uses in traditional African medicine. It contains alkaloids such as lycorine, undulatine, buphanisine, buphanamine, nerbowdine, crinine, crinamidine, distichamine, 3O-acetyl-nerbowdine, buphacetine and buphanidrine which have analgesic and hallucinogenic properties.

It has been used locally to make an arrow poison and in the treatment of equine piroplasmosis.

The Khoi, Bushmen and Bantu were aware of its poisonous nature and used parts of the plant medicinally and as an arrow poison. The principal compounds are eugenol – an aromatic, volatile oil smelling of cloves and having analgesic properties, and the toxic alkaloids buphandrin, crinamidine and buphanine, the latter having an effect akin to that of scopolamine and if taken in quantity may lead to agitation, stupor, strong hallucinations and (if over-ingested) coma or death.

Material from this species' bulb was associated with preservation of the Khoi Kouga mummy found in the Langkloof.

Gallery

**Plant ** File:Boophone disticha 1DS-II 4-1998.jpg|Edgeways view of young inflorescence emerging from bulb charred by bush fire File:Boophone disticha 1DS-II 4-1999.jpg|Same bulb, flatways, showing inflorescence sandwiched by broad bracts File:Boophone disticha SA SterkfonteindamFreeState20101012E.JPG|Buds of young inflorescence having emerged from enclosing bracts File:Boophone disticha 1DS-II 9138.jpg|Mature inflorescence (flowers open), showing basal bracts and embryonic leaf fan File:Boophone disticha 1DS-II 4-2182.jpg|Densely-packed flowers: contrast of deep pink flowers and white anthers File:Boophone disticha 1DS-II 3-1346.jpg|Flowers viewed in profile, showing trumpet shape and protruding stamens File:Boophone disticha single flower bud cropped SAplants image.jpg|Single mature, closed flower bud File:Boophone disticha, e, Schanskop.jpg|Single bursting flower bud revealing long white anthers File:Boophone disticha single flower cropped from SAplants image.jpg|Single flower with half-concealed monkey beetles File:Boophone disticha (5329432051).jpg|Small stand of bulbs - 3 in flower, one running to seed File:Boophone disticha 20D 3591.jpg|Lone bulb growing on recently-burned upland meadow File:Boophone disticha, habitus op dolomietlysie, Gerardsville, a.jpg|Single bulb growing chasmophytically on dolomitic limestone in light shade File:Boophone disticha 50D 0361.jpg|Habit of ripening, tumbleweed-type infructescence File:Boophone disticha infructescence SAplants cropped and brightened.jpg|Close-up of infructescence File:Boophone disticha infructescence SAplants cropped show pedicels & capsules.jpg|Detail of elongated pedicels and 3-angled seed capsules File:Boophone disticha capsules Paul Venter cropped & brightened.jpg|Close-up of ripe 3-horned capsules File:Boophone disticha single dehisced capsule Venter cropped & brightened.jpg|Single, dehiscent, tricorn seed capsule revealing 3 seeds File:Boophone disticha08.jpg|Large (circa 1 cm) globose seeds (with scale reference) File:Boophone disticha 20D 5212.jpg|Young leaf fan emerging from bulb charred in brush fire File:Boophone disticha, habitus, Dewetsnek, a.jpg|Mature leaf fan, showing characteristic distichous phyllotaxis File:Boophone disticha 1DS-II 1422.jpg|Atypical specimen, showing simultaneously inflorescence, leaves and last year's dead leaves

Insect visitors File:Boophone disticha02.jpg|Larvae of Diaphone eumela, the cherry spot moth, feeding on inflorescence File:Diaphone eumela.jpg|Diaphone eumela (cherry spot/lily borer) adult File:Boophone disticha 1DS-II 1419.jpg|Adults of the scarab beetle Cyrtothyrea testaceoguttata mating on inflorescence File:Boophone disticha 1DS-II 1416.jpg|Long-shot of inflorescence covered in mating Cyrtothyrea testaceoguttata File:Hopliini op Boophone disticha, b, Schanskop.jpg|Scarab (Monkey beetle sp.) clinging to centre of single flower

References

References

1.  Under its treatment as ''Boophone disticha'' (from its basionym ''Amaryllis disticha'') this plant name was first published in ''Botanical Magazine'' 52: sub t. 2578. 1825. {{GRIN
2. ''Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa'' - John Mitchell Watt, and Maria Gerdina Breyer-Brandwijk (1962)
3. Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings. (2002). "Species information: ''Boophone disticha''". Flora of Zimbabwe.
4. Hogan, Sean. (2004). "Flora - The Gardener's Bible". Global Book Pub. Pty. Ltd..
5. (1970). "Wild Flowers of the World". G.P. Putnam's Sons.
6. (2001). "(1478) Proposal to Conserve the Name Boophone Herbert with That Spelling (Amaryllidaceae)". Taxon.
7. "''Boophone disticha'' (L.f.) Herb..".
8. 'Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa' - Watt & Brandwijk (1962)
9. James A. Duke. "''Boophone disticha'' (LILIACEAE)". Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases.
10. Neuwinger, Hans Dieter. (1996). "African Ethnobotany: Poisons and Drugs : Chemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology". CRC Press.
11. (2001). "Poisoning with Boophane disticha: A forensic case". Human & Experimental Toxicology.