Bowiea
| Climbing-onion | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Scilloideae |
| Genus: | Bowiea Harv. ex Hook.f. |
| Species: | B. volubilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Bowiea volubilis Harv. ex Hook.f. | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Bowiea, commonly known as climbing-onion, is a genus of bulbous, perennial, succulent plants which thrive in dry and desert regions of eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Uganda to South Africa. It is native to a region stretching from Kenya to Cape Province. It is the 14th most commonly sold medicinal plant in South Africa, used to treat various health conditions. Due to massive harvesting, populations of this plant have been significantly reduced. Because of its high content of potent cardiac glycosides, it is highly poisonous, and deaths of humans and other animals after ingestion are attributed to cardiac arrest. Due to its unique appearance, it is cultivated as a houseplant.
The genus contains a single species, Bowiea volubilis, named after the nineteenth-century British plant collector at Kew, James Bowie. The specific epithet means twisting or winding in Latin.