Plantae > Tracheophyta > Liliopsida > Liliales > Melanthiaceae > Amianthium

Amianthium (amianthium)

Synonyms: Chrosperma; Chrysosperma; Crosperma; Endocles

Wikipedia Abstract

Amianthium is a North American genus of perennial plants growing from bulbs. It contains the single known species Amianthium muscitoxicum, known in English as fly poison from a literal translation of the Latin epithet muscitoxicum, and is noted for its pretty flowers and its toxic alkaloid content. While all parts of the plant are poisonous, the bulb is particularly toxic. The scientific epithet was given to it by Thomas Walter when he published his Flora Caroliniana in 1788. The bulb was mixed with sugar by American colonists to kill flies.
View Wikipedia Record: Amianthium

Species

Amianthium muscitoxicum (flypoison) (Attributes)

External References

Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0