Asparagaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Chlorophytum tuberosum

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

4/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial

Growth—

Chlorophytum species require a frost free climate, and can succeed from the subtropical zone to the tropics, in moist to humid climates^[1]. Species in this genus seem to be adapted to a wide range of conditions in cultivation, though they are generally found in soils rich in organic matter and can succeed in full sun or in shade^{[1, 2]} The collection of Chlorophytum roots from the wild for medicinal purposes is usually carried out before seed maturity, thus hampering natural regeneration and reducing native populations^[3]. The flowers open in the morning and remain open until the evening^[4].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Chlorophytum+tuberosum>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[2]New Crops FactSheets — Purdue University · http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/default.html ↩︎A website dedicated to giving information on potential new agricultural crops.
[3]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
[4]The Botany of Bihar and Orissa — Haines H.H. · Adlard & Son & West Newman Ltd. London · 1922 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A flora, it gives many plant uses. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
[5]Flowers of India — http://www.flowersofindia.net/ ↩︎A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars.
[6]Ethnobotanicals of the Western Ghats — Noorunnisa Begum S., Ravikumar K. & Ved D.K. · Apple Academic Press; Oakville, Canada · 2017 · ISBN 978-1-77188-404-4 ↩︎
[7]Ethnic Food Plants and Ethnic Food Preparation in Eastern Ghats and adjacent Deccan Region — Sadasivaiah B. & Pullaiah T. · Apple Academic Press; Oakville, Canada · 2017 · ISBN 978-1-77188-339-9 ↩︎
[8]Ethnobotanical Observation on Tuberous Plants from Tribal Area of Rajasthan (India) — Shweta Swarnkar & S.S. Katewa · 2008 ↩︎A study on the traditional uses of root tubers in the Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan.
[9]Indian Medicinal Plants; An Illustrated Dictionary — Khare C.P. (Ed.) · Springer-Verlag Berlin/Heidelberg · 2007 · ISBN 978-0-387-70637-5 ↩︎