Gloriosa Superba * Flame Lily * Glory Lily * Stunning Climber * 10 Rare Seeds *

THIS LISTING IS FOR 10 SEEDS OF GLORIOSA SUPERBA Gloriosa superba is a striking climber with unusual and beautiful, red and yellow, flame-like flowers in summer; it is suitable for shade or sun, and is easy to grow. Gloriosa superba is a deciduous, summer-growing climber up to 1.5 m tall, with tuberous roots. The slender stems are produced annually and are upright to scrambling and can grow up to 4 m long. Tubers sprout in spring, and a tuber sends up 1 to 6 stems. The leaves are shiny, bright green and are tipped in a tendril, which will cling to anything it touches. The stems die back in late summer and the tubers are dormant during winter. The showy flowers are borne in summer (November to March) and are usually bi-coloured yellow and orange-scarlet, ageing a deeper shade of orange-red to purple. There is also a pure yellow form. The flowers are borne on long pedicels on the upper parts of the stems. They are nodding, i.e. they are presented up-side-down, with the ovary at the base, the stamens in the middle and the petals at the top. There are 6 free petals, and they are bent backwards (reflexed) so that they are pointing upwards. With their wavy, curling margins, and fiery colours, they really do look like flames. The stamens are large and prominent, and are presented in a ring around the flower, like the spokes of a wagon wheel radiating out around the flower, each tipped with a large anther. The base of the flower is made up of the large, shiny, green ovary tipped by the style, which is bent sharply outwards from the point of attachment at the tip of the ovary, and tipped by a stigma with three short arms.