The African flame lily also known as the Gloriosa lily, is one of my favorite flowers. Like a gentle flame amidst a sea of lush green vegetation, it burns bright in the rays of the smiling sun. There are a lot of them at this time of the year here at Davison’s camp in the Hwange national park. This one in particular, the Gloriosa Superba is the national flower of Zimbabwe and is a protected species under Parks and Wildlife Act.
The flame lily whose scientific name Gloriosa is a genus of 12 species in the plant family Colchicaceae from the order Liliales, and are native in tropical and southern Africa to Asia, and naturalised in Australia and the Pacific and is widely cultivated.
Some common names include Gloriosa Lily, Flame of the Woods, Flame Lily, Climbing Lily and Glory Lily. (floridagardener & Wikipedia). This plant is a creeper and is poisonous. The tuberous rhizomes contains large concentrations of colchicine and is usually mistaken for sweet potatoes or yams.
Special thanks to the following sources:
Kuda's blog 