Identity & origin
BOTANICAL IDENTITY
The right name is the first step.
Bulbous plant described by SANBI among southern African Amaryllidaceae.
Reading the sources: historical indications are retained as cultural facts, with plant parts specified where legible. Their presence does not establish a confirmed diagnosis, adverse-event frequency or equivalence with a commercial extract. No general conclusion about all human research is drawn from this document selection. Persistent or serious illness requires appropriate care.
Also known as: No synonyms listed.
A broad indication does not provide a reproducible preparation. The part named in the warning must not be interpreted as an authorised recipe ingredient.
An illustration is not enough to identify a plant for consumption. Do not forage for a species based solely on this profile.
Uses & evidence
UNDERSTANDING THE USES
Properties & uses.
Reported traditional practices
SANBI reports traditional use for coughs and gastrointestinal complaints. The use passage is brief and does not define a product with assessed safety. This is an institutional synthesis of reported uses, not a therapeutic trial. An indication appearing in this account demonstrates neither causation nor effectiveness in a patient. A broad indication does not provide a reproducible preparation. The part named in the warning must not be interpreted as an authorised recipe ingredient.
Use reported in a survey or inventory. This establishes neither benefit nor safety.
Read the sourceThe traditional uses described are not clinical proof of effectiveness. Evidence for one preparation cannot automatically be applied to another.
Precautions before use
BEFORE ANY USE
Precautions & contraindications.
This guidance does not cover every individual situation. Missing information is not a guarantee of safety.
The following warnings do not constitute a complete review of interactions or contraindications. An unstudied combination cannot be considered compatible.
Contraindications & precautions
- SANBI describes the bulb as poisonous and reports deaths after ingestion. Historical uses cannot justify household experimentation.
- Before medicinal use, have a health professional check the identity, plant part and personal situation. This entry does not define a preparation for unsupervised use.
Medicine interactions
- Drug interactions are not systematically assessed in the selected sources. Discuss this plant and any product containing it with a doctor or pharmacist before combining treatments.
“Reported” does not prove causality; “possible” may reflect indirect evidence. “None reported” means none in the cited source, not that all combinations have been studied. Do not stop a prescribed treatment based on this profile.
Adverse effects
- SANBI describes the bulb as poisonous and reports deaths after ingestion. Historical uses cannot justify household experimentation.
Pregnancy & breastfeeding
Pregnancy and breastfeeding: historical accounts are not safety data. Avoid medicinal use without professional assessment, including where an obstetric use appears in the tradition.
Children & adolescents
Children: this entry defines no validated paediatric preparation. Do not convert a historical account involving children into present-day advice or extrapolate adult use.
If symptoms persist, worsen or are unusual, consult a healthcare professional. In an emergency, contact the emergency services.
Sources & last review
CHECKING REFERENCES
Sources for this profile.
- SANBI PlantZAfrica — Scadoxus puniceus — species profile and reported traditional usesAccessed on 09/10/2026
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