Crinum macowanii - Cape coast lily

Crinum macowanii

Crinum macowanii is a deciduous bulbous plant species native to Africa. Along with other members of the Amaryllidaceae family, it has been used in Traditional medicine throughout southern Africa.In English, Crinum macowanii is referred to as Cape coast lily, river crinum and sabie crinum in South Africa, and as the common vlei-lily in Mozambique. In Tanzania it is known as the pyjama lily.

Uses

Boils, Diarrhoea, Fever, Inflammation, respiratory system problems, skin rashes, tuberculosis, wounds, urinary tract problems

Parts Used

Dried folaige, Whole herb.

Chemical Composition

The alkaloids lycorine, crinine, hamayne, cherylline, and bulbispermine have been isolated from samples of Crinum macowanii.[5] The bulbs have been found to be significantly higher in alkaloid content than the roots, flowering stocks, or leaves.Lycorine is the major alkaloid found in the roots and the only alkaloid found in trace amounts in the leaves. Other lycorine-type alkaloids found in the bulbs include hippadine and epi-lycorine, as well as 1-O-acetyllycorine, which is also found in the flowering stocks and roots

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada
Hindi
Malayalam
Tamil
Telugu
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit
English	Agrimony

Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Habit

Herb

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
Simple		The leaves are divided into 3-6 toothed leaflets, with smaller leaflets in between

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Unisexual		white, pink	5	Heavy heads of large white or pinkish trumpet-shaped blooms with rose stripes down center of the petals

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
simple	7–10 mm long pome	clearly grooved lengthwise, Lowest hooked hairs aligned towards crown	With hooked hairs	many	{{{6}}}

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

• Vishatinduka Taila as root juice extract

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Cuttings.

How to plant/cultivate

Easily grown in most soils, preferring a calcareous soil. Thrives in a dry lightly shaded position, though it prefers full sun. Plants usually self-sow quite freely when growing in a suitable position. The seeds are contained in burrs that can easily attach themselves to clothing or animal's fur, thus transporting them to a new area where they can germinate and grow.The cultivar 'Sweet scented' is popular in France for making tea because the whole plant is sweet scented and the flowers have a spicy apricot-like fragrance.

Commonly seen growing in areas

mountain grassland, seasonally flooded grassland, savanna.

Photo Gallery

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External Links

• A review of ethnoboatany, therapeutic value, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Crinum macowanii Bake
• Activity of a methanolic extract of Zimbabwean Crinum macowanii against exotic RNA viruses in vitro