Crinum angustifolium

Bailey

Onion lily, Bush lily, Field Lily

Amaryllidaceae Edible: Bulb, Roots

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Summary

Crinum angustifolium, commonly known as the field lily, is a species of the family Amaryllidae native to northern Australia.

Description

A lily which keeps growing from year to year. It is 0.3-1 m high. It grows from a bulb. The leaves are narrow and taper to a pointed tip. The leaves are 30-100 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. They arise from the bulb at ground level. The flowers are white. There are 6 petals. The flowers are 12-14 cm across. They occur in umbrella like clusters of 6-12 on a stalk 30-50 cm long. The fruit is a capsule which is round and pale green. The seeds usually germinate before they fall.

Edible Uses

The bulb can be eaten as a vegetable, though it requires extensive squashing and washing to remove possibly poisonous materials.

Traditional Uses

The bulb can be eaten but requires extensive squashing then washing to remove possibly poisonous materials.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It needs warm climates. It grows in tropical places. It grows along creeks in regions that are often flooded. It is very frost sensitive.

Where It Grows

Australia*,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. Seed can be collected while still in the capsule.

Notes

There are about 130 Crinum species.

References (9)

Elliot, W.R., & Jones, D.L., 1984, Encyclopedia of Australian Plants suitable for cultivation. Vol 3. Lothian. p 109
Kenneally, K.E., Edinger, D. C., and Willing T., 1996, Broome and Beyond, Plants and People of the Dampier Peninsula, Kimberley, Western Australia. Department of Conservation and Land Management. p 200
Lazarides, M. & Hince, B., 1993, Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia, CSIRO. p 68
Paczkowska, G. & Chapman, A.R., 2000, The Western Australian Flora. A Descriptive Catalogue. Western Australian Herbarium. p 30
Smith, Nicholas et al. 1993, Ngarinyman Ethnobotany: Aboriginal Plant Use from the Victoria River Area Northern Australia. Northern Territory Botanical Bulletin No 16. Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. p 16, 15.

Show all 9 references

Townsend, K., 1994, Across the Top. Gardening with Australian Plants in the tropics. Society for Growing Australian Plants, Townsville Branch Inc. p 141
Vigilante, T., et al, 2013, Island country: Aboriginal connections, values and knowledge of the Western Kimberley islands in the context of an island biological survey. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 81: 145-182
Wheeler, J.R.(ed.), 1992, Flora of the Kimberley Region. CALM, Western Australian Herbarium, p 1000
Williams, K.A.W., 1999, Native Plants of Queensland Volume 4. Keith A.W. Williams North Ipswich, Australia. p 126