Burchardia umbellata
Milkmaids
a perennial member of the Burchardia genus in the family Colchicaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Colchicaceae
- Genus
- Burchardia
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Height
- 0.6 m
- Fertility
- Insects
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
- Pollinators
- Insects
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Root - raw or cooked[5]. Starchy but a non-descript flavour[2]. Pleasantly starchy, much like raw potato[5].
- Plant part
- Root
Environment
- Range
- Australia - New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 9+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - we have no information on this plant but would advise sowing the seed in a warm greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the summer or sowing the stored seed in a greenhouse in the spring. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Requires a well-drained sandy peat or a peat and loam mix[1]. Requires plenty of moisture in the growing season from late winter to spring but the plant dies down in the summer and should be kept drier at this time[4]. Although the plant tolerates temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[4]. in the cooler climate of Britain it is not really very hardy. It can, however, be grown outdoors in the summer and be lifted in the autumn and stored in a cool but frost-free place over winter[6]. There is a conflict with this last statement because the plant normally comes into root growth in late winter and flowers in spring. We assume that for storage to work you have to keep the rhizomes fairly dry and cool in storage to prevent early growth[K]. Plants also grow very well in a cool greenhouse where it should be repotted rather loosely in the spring of each year[1].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976-00-00 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
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