Androstephium caeruleum
| Androstephium caeruleum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 0.5' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Androstephium caeruleum (common name: blue funnel lily)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a frame or greenhouse until large enough to go outdoors. Plant out whilst the plants are dormant in the autumn.
Division of offsets when the plant is dormant in late summer.
Cultivation: Requires a very well-drained rich sandy loam and a sunny position[2][1].
When the bulbs are planted about 15cm deep, they are generally hardy in Britain[2]. Another report says that plants are hardy to -10°c or more if the drainage is perfect.
This species is sometimes included in the genus Bessera[2].
Range: Southern N. America - Kansas to Texas.
Edibility: Bulb[5][6]. No more details are given, but the bulb is rather small, usually less than 25mm in diameter[3].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: A. violaceum. Bessera caeruleum.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.