St. Christopher's Lily

Overview

Crinum jagus is native to tropical Africa, and introduced into Mauritius, Peru, and Seychelles. It is used in traditional medicine in southern Nigeria for memory loss and other mental symptoms associated with ageing. And is also used as a food additive for certain prescriptions.

Vernacular Names

No found data on this. Need further research. 

Agroecology

Crinum is easily grown in organically rich, moist, well-drained soils in full sun to light shade. Water requirements: average water needs, water regularly; and do not overwater.

Morphology

• Roots - numerous and fibrous. 
• Bulbs - typically taper into elongated necks.
• Stem - a much reduced corm.
• Leaves - clump of strap-shaped green leaves, linear,the widest point being nearer to the tip than to the base, arising from ground level, pale-green on the abaxial, but glossy-green on the adaxial surface; tip, obtuse; mean length, about 7 times the mean width.
• Flowers - tulip-like flowers bloom in clusters, an inflorescence about 60 cm high. Some flowers are fragrant, but other have little aroma. Flowering shoot, one per plant; pale-green; usually about half, but sometimes as long as the leaf blade; laterally flattened; forming a receptacle at the tip with two opposing bracts that enclosed the flowers when young; flowers, 4 to12 per flowering shoot, sometimes including the aborted flowers; epipetalous with 6 curved stamens; petals, 6; white on both surfaces; with yellowish-green spine on the abaxial surface; free above, but fused at the base into a green, three-angled corolla tube, encasing a long thread- like pistil and terminating on the ovary.

Cultivation

Vegetative propagation is by corms or bulbs division (including offsets).

Chemical Constituents

Alkaloids (hippadine, lycorine, 3-O-demethyltazettine, ambelline, acetylambelline, acetylcaranine, crinanine acetate, crinine, caranine, and others), phenolic compounds (including crinamine, psuedolycorine, 6-hydroxycrinamine, hamayne, morpholine, bowdensine, demethoxybowdensine), saponins, tannins, calcium oxalate, and calcium tetrata.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

• Plant decoction by traditional practitioners in Africa, including Southeastern Nigeria, is used for treatment of skin wounds and several other ailments.
• It is used in traditional medicine to treat cough, rickets, diabetes, asthma and malaria.
• Studies had showed antimicrobial and antioxidant effect of methanolic Crinum jagus bulb extract in wound healing.
• Several studies have reported its pharmacological properties, such as anti-tuberculosis, anti-diabetic, antihemorrhagic, antibacterial, anti-acetylcholinesterase, healing and hepatoprotective.