Botany
Tambal is an herb plant with bulbs 5 to 10 cm in diameter. Leaf blade is somewhat rounded or broadly ovate, up to 25 cm long and wide, with broadly cordate base, and shortly and abruptly acuminate tip. Petiole is longer than the blade, and dilated at the base. Peduncle is about as long as the leaves, bearing from 15 ro 30 flowers in a dense umbel. Flowers are white and waxy. Staminal corona is six-partite. Perianth is about 5 cm long, the segments as long as the tube. Fruit is a globose berry.

Distribution
- In secondary forests at low altitudes and never far from settlements, in Cavite, Rizal and Laguna Provinces in Luzon, in Mindoro and Palawan.
- Probably introduced.
- Occurs from the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago to tropical Australia.

Constituents
The bulb yields an alkaloid, lycorine.
The active principle is alkaloidal in nature.
Reported minimum fatal dose by intravenous injection is 0.55 gm per kg body weight.

Properties
Emetic.

Parts used
Bulb, leaves.

Uses
Folkloric
Bulb used as emeto-cathartic in small doses.
Leaves used externally as antirheumatic topicals.
Bulb chewed to relived oppression and giddiness resulting from eating poisonous fish or crustaceans.

Availability
Wild-crafted.