Characteristics
A slender herb which keeps growing from year to year. It is 20-30 cm high. The stems are hairy. The leaves are long, narrow and hairy. They are 15-25 cm long by 0.4-0.7 cm wide. The leaves are grass like with veins running along the leaf. The leaf is pointed at the tip and has a sheath at the base. The flowers are yellow. They are about 2 cm across. They occur in spikes at the end of the shoot. The fruit is a small capsule. It is 0.5-0.8 cm long and enclosed in hairy papery bracts. The small tubers are edible.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
evergreen
|
| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
-
|
| Root system |
-
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
c3
|
Environment
It is a tropical plant. It grows in northern Australia. It grows in open forest often on rocky outcrops. It grows on moist sandy ground. It does well in hot places.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
-
|
Usage
The small tubers are cooked and eaten.
| Uses |
-
|
| Edible
|
roots
tubers
|
| Therapeutic use
|
-
|
| Human toxicity |
-
|
| Animal toxicity |
-
|
Cultivation
Plants can be grown from seed or tubers.
| Mode |
seedlings
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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