Asparagaceae FAMILY

Drimia altissima

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

Although used medicinally, the bulb is poisonous in anything but small doses.

Botanical Description

Drimia altissima is a perennial bulbous plant producing a flowering stem 35 - 200cm tall followed by a rosette of leaves about 20 - 50cm long from a bulb 8 - 12cm in diameter[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ , 394 Title Flora Capensis Publication Author Hiern. W.P.; Brown N.E. Website http://www.aluka.org/action/doBrowse?sa=1&st=662543&execbr=&sls= Publisher Year 1909 ISBN Description Rather dated, and many of the botanical names have been changed since it was written, but contains a wealth of information about plants of southern Africa. It can be downloaded or viewed online. ]. The bulb is sometimes gathered from the wild for local medicinal use.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeTropical Africa - Senegal to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, south to Namibia, Botswana, S. Africa.

HabitatFound in savannah and forest clearings at elevations from sea level to 2,100 metres[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ , 610 Title Flora of Tropical East Africa Publication Author Beentje H.J. Website http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=396814 Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 2002 ISBN Description Available on-line, a modern flora of East Africa. ].