0808 Flame Lily (Gloriosa superba Rothschildiana)

Botanical Illustration. Artist Code: 0808. Completed May 2008. Original SOLD. Water colour on Aquarelle Arches 100% hot pressed cotton rag paper. Unframed size 12″ x 16″. Framed size 22” x 18”

SOLD – Cambridge Open Studios Exhibition July 2015

My neighbour grew this plant especially for me in 2008 because someone had asked me to paint one—although in the end they only wanted to purchase one greetings card!! After I painted the picture I thought the plant had died. However, it has sprung up in the pot again almost every year, although I had planted another plant in the pot! It grows 5 cm a day until it finally flowers. The red flame-like petals flicker in the breeze, and the bright green, translucent, twirling leaves glisten in the sunlight. The flowers start as tight green buds, then open slightly like stripy lanterns. The leaves take a stranglehold on anything that touches their curly tips. The petals surge outwards like a star, then sweep upwards like a fire, and as they fade the petals flatten and bend and fold inwards. What a beautiful plant.