Golden Lily
Bulbinopsis bulbosa

Family: Asphodelaceae

What it is like

Bulbinopsis bulbosa is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in) by 0.3 m (1ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 9. It is in flower from June to July. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 0.5

Where it is found

Grassland and rock crevices, in swampy situations up to the sub-alpine zone. Usually found on flats or sandy soils. Woodlands, grassland and saltbush plains.

Australia - New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

Tuber - cooked. Starchy and palatable when grown in moist conditions. Plants only produce one tuber and that is up to 3cm wide.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating:

How it is grown

Easily grown in a well-drained sandy loam in a sunny sheltered position. Tolerates poor soils. Hardy to about -7°c in Australian gardens, though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters. Plants are almost hardy in Britain and can be grown outdoors in the milder areas of the country. They should be heavily mulched over the winter in areas where temperatures fall much below zero. Transplants readily. The flowering stems are easily damaged and flattened. A very ornamental and polymorphic species which could possibly be better treated as a complex of closely related species.

Propagating it: Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in spring in a greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first two winters, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in the spring. Best done as the plants come into growth. Pot the divisions up and grow them on in a cold frame until they are established then plant them out in the summer.

Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds; East Wall. By. South Wall. By. West Wall. By.

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 8-11

Growth:

Soil: Light (sandy), medium

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Causes severe scouring if eaten by sheep or cattle.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Bulbine bulbosa. (R.Br.)Haw.