Spider Lily

Overview

Spider lily originates from South and Central America, but it is cultivated and naturalized in tropical Africa, Asia and the Pacific islands, and is also used as ornamental hedge in many areas. It is an interesting medicinal plant, which deserves more attention in South-East Asia. It is a source of compounds with anticancer and antiviral (including anti-HIV) activities.

Vernacular Names

Bakong (Tagalog-Philippines), Phlapphlueng teenpet (Thai), Bạch trinh biển (Vietnamese).

Agroecology

Spider lily occurs along the seashore and inland in moist, sandy locations at low altitude. It is cultivated in gardens up to 1,500 m altitude. This plant requires partial shade to full sun and temperature between 4-32 ºC.

Morphology

• Bulbs - spherical bulb 7.5-10 cm in diameter.
• Leaves - radical, 2-seriate, simple, lorate to linear, 40-120 cm × 1.5-5(-7) cm, acute at apex, sessile, and dark green.
• Flowers - bisexual, large, regular, 3-merous, white, fragrant, sessile; tepals 6, equal, united into a long tube 9-17 cm long, segments linear, 7.5-12 cm long, channelled, with an apical cusp; stamens 6, inserted in the perianth throat and connate at base into a false corona 2.5-3 cm long, free part of filaments 6 cm long, anthers with orange pollen; ovary inferior, 3-celled, style filiform, slightly exceeding the stamens, stigma small and capitate.
• Fruits - fleshy capsule, finally rupturing laterally, few-seeded.
• Seeds - large, with thick, spongy, green testa.

Cultivation

This plant is propagated either by seed or by dividing bulbs. Maturity from seed takes several years. It is easier to break off a piece of the bulb and propagate from it.

Chemical Constituents

Alkaloid, lycorine, tannins, flavonoids, flavonols, saponins, steroids, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, hippeastrine, hydroxyvittatine, demethylmaritidine, quercetin and glucoside.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

Medicinal Uses

• The plant is emetic.
• Studies on lycorine has shown antineoplastic cytotoxic, wound healing, antibacterial, and antiviral properties.

Traditional Uses

• In the Philippines, the bulb is the only part of the plant used for wound healing.
• In Lao, roots boiled in water, used for testicles too low because of excessive running.
• Mixture of oil and crushed bulbs applied on face to treat freckles and blemishes.
• The juice from the squeezed leaves is applied to cuts and wounds.