Arthropodium minus
Small Vanilla Lily
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Asphodelaceae
- Genus
- Arthropodium
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Height
- 0.3 m
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
Uses
Edible uses
Root - cooked. Rather watery with a slightly sweet or bitter flavour[2]. Plants produce about 4 - 5 tubers, each of which are up to 3cm long[2].
- Plant part
- Root
Environment
- Range
- Australia - New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria.
- Habitat
- Found in a variety of habitats from the coast to alpine areas. Eucalyptus forests, woodlands and sub-alpine meadows, favouring drier habitats than A. milleflorum[2].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 8+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
Seed - sow late winter in a cold greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on for at least their first winter in a greenhouse. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring.
Cultivation
Prefers a well-drained sandy peaty loam in a warm, sheltered sunny position[3]. Succeeds in areas where temperatures seldom fall much below freezing so long as it is given a sunny sheltered position and a well-drained soil[3]. Plants are hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[1], though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and colder longer and wetter winters. The plant has a strong scent of vanilla, this is especially noticeable on warm days[1].
References
Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988-00-00 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5