Practical
Plants

Caesia vittata

Blue Grass Lily

a perennial member of the Caesia genus in the family Liliaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Liliaceae
Genus
Caesia
Life cycle
perennial
Height
0.6 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Root[1]. We have no more details other than that the roots are slightly fleshy[4].

Plant part
Root

Environment

Range
Australia - New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria.
Habitat
Loamy soils or open woods in all parts of the country[2].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
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 details on this species but suggest that it can be sown as soon as it is ripe in a warm greenhouse. Stored seed should be sown in the spring in a warm greenhouse. Sow the seed thinly and grow the plants on in the seed pot for their first year, giving liquid feeds if necessary. Pot the plants up into individual pots in early spring and grow them on in the greenhouse for a second year before planting them out in early summer. Division.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in this country. It tolerates temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[3] but, because of our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters this cannot be directly translated to British gardens. This plant is widespread in Australia so it is possible that some provenances will succeed here. Plants are likely to require a well-drained soil in a sunny position and some sort of protection in the winter. This species is considered to be no more than a variety of C. parviflora by some botanists[4].

References

  1. Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976-00-00 ISBN 0-00-634436-4

    ↩

  2. Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.

    ↩

  3. Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988-00-00 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0

    ↩

  4. Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-207-14383-8

    ↩1↩2

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