Burchardia umbellata
| Burchardia umbellata | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Burchardia umbellata (common name: milkmaids)
Propagation: Seed - we have no information on this plant but would advise sowing the seed in a warm greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the summer or sowing the stored seed in a greenhouse in the spring. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division.
Cultivation: Requires a well-drained sandy peat or a peat and loam mix[1]. Requires plenty of moisture in the growing season from late winter to spring but the plant dies down in the summer and should be kept drier at this time[2].
Although the plant tolerates temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[2]. in the cooler climate of Britain it is not really very hardy. It can, however, be grown outdoors in the summer and be lifted in the autumn and stored in a cool but frost-free place over winter[3]. There is a conflict with this last statement because the plant normally comes into root growth in late winter and flowers in spring. We assume that for storage to work you have to keep the rhizomes fairly dry and cool in storage to prevent early growth[K]. Plants also grow very well in a cool greenhouse where it should be repotted rather loosely in the spring of each year[1].
Range: Australia - New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria.
Habitat: Heaths, flats, open forests and low hillsides in all regions[4][5].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[5]. Starchy but a non-descript flavour[6]. Pleasantly starchy, much like raw potato[5].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wrigley, John and Murray Fagg. Australian Native Plants. Collins, 1988.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Ewart, Alfred. Recording Census of the Victorian Flora. 1923.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Low, Tim. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson, 1989.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.