''Arthropodium minus'', the small vanilla lily, is a species of
herbaceous
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition of t ...
perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
s native to the Southern Hemisphere. Valued as
bush tucker
Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...
as the roots are edible raw.
Found in a variety of habitats from the coast to alpine areas of eastern Australia. Eucalyptus forests, woodlands and sub-alpine meadows, favouring drier habitats than ''
Arthropodium milleflorum
''Arthropodium milleflorum'', the pale vanilla lily, is a species of herbaceous perennial plants native to Australia. It occurs in various habitats including alpine areas and grows to between 0.3 and 1.3 metres high and 0.3 metres wide. ...
''.
The grasslike leaves have a strong scent of vanilla. The plant is deciduous in drought, and resprouts after fire. Some 35 cm in height, the flowers which appear September–December are purple or pink. The fruit matures during January–February and contains about 16 seeds. ''A. minus'' is a garden ornamental easily cultivated from seed.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4797681
minus
Root vegetables
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Flora of South Australia
Flora of Tasmania
Flora of Victoria (Australia)