Narrow-leaf Plantain-lily, Chinese stargrass
Aletris spicata

Family: Nartheciaceae

What it is like

A perennial plant 30 cm high. There are many leaves tufted together. They are very narrow. They are 5-30 cm long by 2-4 mm wide. The flowering stalk is 5-35 cm long and has 10-80 flowers in a loose cluster. This stalk is densely hairy. The flowers can be yellow or white. They can be striped or tinged pink. The fruit is a capsule which is oval and angular. It is 3-5 mm long by 2-3 mm wide.

There are 21 Aletris species.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows naturally in low hills in Japan. It prefers a damp sunny position with leaf mould. In China it grows in grassland and scrub between 100-2900 m altitude in many provinces. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Taiwan

How it is used for food

The young leaves are cooked and eaten as an emergency food. They are eaten with oil and salt. The whole plant is boiled with sugar to make a drink given to mothers to improve their milk quality.

Low

Edible parts

Leaves

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed or by division of the clump.

Its other names

Local names

Fen tiao er cai

Synonyms

Aletris dickinsii Franch.; Aletris japonica Lambert; [Illegitimate] Aletris spicata var. microantha Satake; Hypoxis farinosa Thunb.; Hypoxis spicata Thunb.;