Babiana plicata
| Babiana plicata | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 0.5' |
| Width: | 0.3' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Babiana plicata (common name: baboon root)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cool greenhouse, it will germinate in the spring[1]. The seed can also be sown in a warm greenhouse at most times of the year[2]. It usually germinates within 4 - 8 weeks at 20°c[3]. Give young seedlings as much light as possible[3]. Sow the seed thinly so that it does not need to be thinned and grow the young plants on for their first year without disturbance. Give an occasional liquid feed to ensure that they do not become nutrient deficient. Pot the small bulbs up when they are dormant, placing 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot, and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least the next year. Plant them out into their permanent positions when the plants are dormant in the autumn.
Division of offsets when the plant is dormant in the autumn. They are freely produced[4][1]. The offsets can be planted direct into their permanent positions if required.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, it requires a warm, sunny, sheltered position in a well-drained light sandy soil[4][5].
Plants are only reliably hardy in the milder areas of Britain and are best cultivated in pots in a cold greenhouse in most parts of the country[2]. They tolerate temperatures down to about -5°c[1].
Plant the corms 20 - 25cm deep[5][1]. If necessary, the corms can be lifted after the plant dies down in the autumn and stored overwinter in a dry frost-free place, replanting them in the spring[1]. If the plants are to be left in the ground over the winter then it is best to give them a protective mulch of bracken or some similar material[6].
The growing plant resents root disturbance[3].
Range: S. Africa.
Habitat: Sandy soils on flat land and mountain sides[7].
Edibility: Corm - boiled[8][9][10][11][12]. It is 2 - 3cm in diameter[1].
Soil: Can grow in light soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: B. caerulescens. B. reflexa.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Grey, Charles. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate, 1938.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Innes, Clive. The World of Iridaceae. Holly Gate, 1985.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Adamson, Robert and Terence Salter. Flora of the Cape Peninsula. 1950.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Douglas, James. Alternative Foods.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.