Natal lily is native to damp woodlands in South Africa, from Morgan's Bay in the Eastern Cape Province up into northern KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland. It is not found in the wild in North America.
Cultivars like these, popular as house plants, are often called Kaffir lilies.
Identification: Plants are up to 2½′ (80 cm) in height.
Leaves are basal, straplike and long in their natural habitats—usually about 3′ (1 m),
rarely approaching 6½′ (2 m), and 1¾-3½″ (5-9 cm)
wide.
Dense, spherical flowerheads contain 8-20 flowers, each
about 1″ (2.5 cm) across, with six petals. The natural flowers are vermillion with a pale yellow throat.
Various cultivars are orange, apricot-colored, red, yellow, and pink with white or cream-colored
centers. Fruits are bright orange to red (yellow with some cultivars).
Edibility: Poisonous. Contains alkaloids, including lycorine.
Symptoms include salivation, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea; paralysis can result if large amounts are ingested.