Tulbaghia alliacea L.F.

An onion family plant. It is a herb and forms clumps. It has a swollen rhizome up to 10 cm long and keeps growing from year to year. It grows up to 45 cm tall. The leaves are like straps. They form a ring at the base. They are 15-20 cm long and 1 cm wide. The flowers are in groups of 10-20. The flowers are olive green. They have an orange centre. The fruit is a capsule. it is 8 mm long. The seeds are triangle shaped and flat. They are black.

Sandy flats. Clay or gravelly flats. Found in a variety of habitats from lowland swamps to moist sandy meadows and barren ground, at elevations up to 2,000 metres.

The leaves and stems and cooked and eaten. They are also finely chopped and seasoned with salt and used as a relish. The young leave are added to soups, stews and pickles. The bulbs are cooked and eaten. The flowers are eaten.

Can be grown by seedlings.