Practical
Plants

Crinum flaccidum

Murray Lily

a member of the Crinum genus in the family Amaryllidaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Crinum
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 - cooked. Rich in starch[4][5], it is a source of arrowroot[9][10][2][3].

Plant part
Root

Environment

Range
Australia - New South Wales, South Australia.
Habitat
Sandy inundated flats of river flood plains[4].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 10+
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 - best sown as soon as it is ripe, placing 2 - 3 seeds in individual pots in a greenhouse. Do not cover the seed. Sow stored seed April/May in a warm greenhouse. Once they have germinated, you can thin each pot to just one plant if required, though we have not found this to be necessary. Give an occasional liquid feed to ensure that the plants do not suffer nutritional deficiencies. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first 2 years, planting them out into their permanent positions in the spring. Division of offsets in April/May or in September. When divided in the spring, the bulbs can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, if done in September, however, they should be potted up and overwintered in the greenhouse.

Cultivation

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

Requires a rich well-drained soil in a sheltered sunny position[1][8]. Plants are not very frost hardy and are unlikely to succeed outside the mildest areas of the country[1][6]. Only plant out good sized bulbs and do so at the end of May, planting them quite deeply in the soil[1]. The bulbs are sensitive to transplanting and may take several years to establish[6]. They will require winter protection even in the mildest areas of the country, a good mulch of dry bracken might be sufficient[K]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[7]. It is possible that other members of this genus will also provide edible bulbs[3].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

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

    ↩1↩2

  4. Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.

    ↩1↩2

  5. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩

  6. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2

  7. Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0 460 86048 8

    ↩

  8. Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938-00-00

    ↩

  9. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

  10. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

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