Thysanotus tuberosus
Fringed Lily
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Asphodelaceae
- Genus
- Thysanotus
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Height
- 0.2 m
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
Uses
Edible uses
Root - raw or cooked. A crisp juicy texture but it has very little flavour[4].
- Plant part
- Root
Environment
- Range
- Australia - New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria.
- Habitat
- Sandy soils in heaths and grassland in the montane zone[2].
- 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
Seed - sow thinly in spring in a sandy compost in a greenhouse[5]. Grow the seedlings on in the pot for their first growing season and pot them on into individual pots in early spring of the following year. Grow them on for at least another year in a greenhouse before trying them outdoors. Division.
Cultivation
Requires a fertile well-drained sandy loan in a sunny position[1][5]. This species is not very hardy in Britain, usually requiring greenhouse protection in this country. It tolerates temperatures down to about -7°c in Australian gardens[3], though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer colder and wetter winters. Most, if not all, members of this genus have edible roots[4].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
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