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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Cardiocrinum giganteum in flower



Fragrant too. This flower stalk went bendy for some reason. If it sets seed and they drop onto fertile ground, I'll be delighted, as I love these flowers. There are hundreds of them at Round Hill, grown by the Chinese gold miners. I wonder why? Perhaps they have a quality I've not discovered yet. Edible?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

If that's a lily the bulbs were probably used by the Chinese for medicine.

robertguyton said...

Google says...
"It is an important economic plant in China. The seeds are used as a replacement for Aristolochia fruits to treat cough [5], and bulbs are used as a starch staple by the local people in Guangxi and Yunnan "

robertguyton said...

Of course it's threatened with extinction in its native China, due to habitat destruction.

Anonymous said...

What's the land at Round Hill like? Is that near bush? Who owns the land? Any other non-natives growing there? I have a curiosity about plants growing on old miner settlements.

robertguyton said...

The natives have retaken the once-devastated landscape, aside from some broom and gorse. The cardiocrinums are growing under the canopy of kamahi and kohuhu.