Triteleia ixioides
| Triteleia ixioides | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 0.3' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Triteleia ixioides (common name: pretty face)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Alternatively, the seed can be sown in spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 months at 15°c. Sow the seed thinly so that there is no need to prick them out and grow the seedlings on in the pot for their first year. Give an occasional liquid feed to ensure that they do not become mineral deficient. Seedlings are prone to damping off so be careful not to overwater them and keep them well ventilated. When they become dormant, pot up the small bulbs placing about 3 in each pot. Grow them on in the greenhouse for another year or two until the bulbs are about 20mm in diameter and then plant them out into their permanent positions when they are dormant in the autumn.
Division of flowering size bulbs in autumn. Dig up the clumps of bulbs, replanting the larger ones direct into their permanent positions. It is best to pot up the smaller ones and grow them on in a greenhouse for a year before planting them out when they are dormant in early autumn.
Cultivation: Easily grown in a bulb frame or a warm sunny position outdoors[1]. Requires a rich well-drained sandy loam[2]. Likes plenty of moisture whilst in growth followed by a warm dry period in late summer and autumn[3].
Bulbs can flower in 2 years from seed[K].
Range: South-western N. America - Oregon to California.
Habitat: Sandy soils near the coast[4], in oak and pine forests to 1500 metres[1].
Edibility: Bulb - raw or cooked[5][6]. Small[7]. Rich in starch, they can be used like potatoes.
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Brodiaea ixioides. Calliprora ixioides.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Bulbs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.