Slym
Albuca canadensis

Family: Asparagaceae

What it is like

A bulb that that keeps growing from year to year. It grows 50-120 cm high and spreads 10 cm wide. It has 5-6 fleshy, sword shaped leaves. They are 45-90 cm long. There are 40-50 flowers in a group. The flowers are bell shaped and white. They hang down and outwards. The flowers are 1.5-2.5 cm across.

There are about 30 Albuca species. They are native to Southern Africa. Also put in the family Hyacinthaceae.

Where it is found

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in clay soils.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Australia, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa

How it is used for food

The stalks are chewed to quench thirst. The bulb is edible.

Edible parts

Stalks - drink, roots, flowers

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Mototse, Slymstok uintjie

Synonyms

Albuca alba Lam.; Albuca altissima Dryand; Albuca coarctata Dryand; Albuca cornuta DC.; Albuca elata Salisb.; Albuca lutea Lam.; Albuca major Linn. illeg.; Albuca maxima Burm. f.; Albuca minor L.; Albuca sordida Salisb.; Ornithogalum canadense L.; Ornithogalum maximum (Burm. f.) J. C. Manning & Goldblatt;