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Arthropodium minus

Common name:	Small Vanilla Lily	Family:	Asphodelaceae
Author:	R.Br.	Botanical references:
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Australia - New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria.
Habitat:	Found in a variety of habitats from the coast to alpine areas. Eucalyptus forests, woodlands and sub-alpine meadows, favouring drier habitats than A. milleflorum[193].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in flower in May. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Root.

Root - cooked. Rather watery with a slightly sweet or bitter flavour[193]. Plants produce about 4 - 5 tubers, each of which are up to 3cm long[193].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a well-drained sandy peaty loam in a warm, sheltered sunny position[200].
Succeeds in areas where temperatures seldom fall much below freezing so long as it is given a sunny sheltered position and a well-drained soil[200]. Plants are hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[157], though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and colder longer and wetter winters.
The plant has a strong scent of vanilla, this is especially noticeable on warm days[157].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter in a cold greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on for at least their first winter in a greenhouse. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring.

Scent

Leaves: Crushed: The plant has a strong scent of vanilla, this is especially noticeable on warm days.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[157] Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.

[193] Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Arthropodium+minus
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.