''Burchardia umbellata'', known as milkmaids, is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous plant 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 o ...

native to woodlands and

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

of eastern and southern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is known in all states. It typically flowers from September until November, in dry

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or ...

forests.Australian Botany Pages.
Australian National Botanic Gardens

Description

The narrow leaves of ''Burchardia umbellata'' are up to 60 cm long by 1.5 to 4 mm wide. Clusters of white or pale pink flowers with reddish centers sit atop a thin stalk that is 50 to 60 cm high. Each flower measures about 2.5 cm wide. There is a cluster of up to ten carrot-shaped

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

s at the base, each about 5 mm thick.

Taxonomy

''Burchardia umbellata'' was first described by

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

in 1810. The genus ''

Burchardia ''Burchardia'' is a genus of herbs that are endemic to Australia. The genus is named for Johann Heinrich Burkhardt, a German botanist. ; Species * ''Burchardia bairdiae'' Keighery * '' Burchardia congesta'' Lindl. * ''Burchardia monantha' ...

'' is named for German botanist Johann Heinrich Burckhardt. The Latin

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''umbellata'' means "umbrella" or "parasol", referring to the shape of the

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

s of flowers.''Burchardia umbellata''.
Australian Native Plants Society.

Use as food

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

eat the potato-like tubers.Gott, B
Aboriginal Trail.
Australian National Botanic Gardens. The tubers can be eaten raw or cooked. They are white, fleshy, crisp, and starchy, with an undistinguished flavor.

Cultivation

''Burchardia umbellata'' is rarely available in nurseries, but it can be propagated by seed and kept in containers. It requires moist, well-drained soils and sun or light shade.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4998201 Bushfood Colchicaceae Monocots of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Angiosperms of Western Australia Root vegetables