Crinum flaccidum
| Crinum flaccidum | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Amaryllidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Amaryllidoideae |
| Genus: | Crinum |
| Species: | C. flaccidum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Crinum flaccidum Herb.[1]
| |
Crinum flaccidum, known variously as the Darling lily, Murray lily or Macquarie lily, is a species of the family Amaryllidae native to inland Australia.[1] The Darling river people — the Paakantyi — called this plant paalampaltharu.[2]
Taxonomy
In the 1889 book The useful native plants of Australia, the botanist Joseph Henry Maiden wrote:
"This exceedingly handsome white-flowered plant, which grows back from the Darling, has bulbs which yield a fair arrowroot. On one occasion, near the town of Wilcannia, a man earned a handsome sum by making this substance when flour was all but unobtainable.
South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland."[3]
Maiden also gave three synonyms:
- Crinum flaccidum Herb.
- Amaryllis australasica Ker
- Crinum australis Spreng.[3]
Uses
It is rich in starch. The root is cooked and then eaten. It is used as a source of arrowroot.[4]
References
- ^ a b "Crinum flaccidum Herb". Flora of Australia Online. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government.
- ^ Hercus, Luise Anna (2011). Paakantyi Dictionary. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. p. 63.
- ^ a b J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney. p. 20.
- ^ "Crinum flaccidum - Useful Tropical Plants". tropical.theferns.info. Retrieved 2023-09-05.