Bulbine bulbosa

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Bulbine Lily

Conservation status: . . .

Etymology:   

• 
  

• The specific epithet (bulbosa) means "bulb", although the species does not form true bulbs

Flowers

• The flowers are borne in racemes 4.5–26 cm long with up to fifty fragrant flowers on one or two scapes 19–50 cm long

• Each flower is on a pedicel 5–30 mm long with a bract 0.7–15 mm long at the base

• The six tepals are yellow, 9–22 mm long and 1–3.5 mm wide, and the stamens are 8–9 mm long with golden-brown, club-shaped hairs on the filaments, and gold-coloured anthers

• Flowering occurs from February to March 

Fruit:                            

• A more or less spherical to oval capsule 3–6 mm long

Leaves:         

• There are between three and seven leaves, channelled to more or less cylindrical, tapering and hollow, up to 30 cm long and 1–5 mm wide

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Bulbine bulbosa is a perennial herb that grows in tufts 27–75 cm high with thick, fleshy roots and usually a bulb-like tuber

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• Bulbine bulbosa is found in all Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory, except for Western Australia and the Northern Territory

• It grows in a wide range of habitats but usually in damp places in grassland, woodland and forest, sometimes at altitudes above 1 800 m

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • This species was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown who gave it the name Anthericum bulbosa in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen

  • In 1821, Adrian Hardy Haworth changed the name to Bulbine bulbosa in Revisiones Plantarum Succulentarum

  • The taxon may be a complex of up to four distinct species

• Ecology

  • Experiments have shown that the ability of self-sown seeds of B. bulbosa to germinate between tufts of grasses of several species, depends on the species of grass and the gap width between the tufts

  • The experiments were performed to test the performance of the B. bulbosa in habitat reconstruction programs in south-eastern Australia

• Uses

  • Bush food

    • The corms of mature plants are nutritious, containing calcium and iron, and were used as food by Aboriginal people, who called it parm, puewan, and pike

    • They regarded the corms as the sweetest-tasting of the lily and lily-like Australian plants

  • Horticulture

    • The long-lasting stalks of fragrant, attractive yellow flowers and its moderate frost-hardiness have encouraged its use as a garden flower in suitable areas

    • Few garden varieties have been developed, however

    • The plant can be propagated from seeds or by division of the corm. Seeds are released from the ripened seed capsules and are best kept at least a month or two before use

    • They should be sown in the spring, and germination takes about 35 days. Watering and good drainage are essential

    • The species suppresses self-fertilization, so collecting seeds from garden-grown plants may result in low germination

    • Planting seeds from multiple sources may increase yield

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbine_bulbosa (2024)