Burchardia umbellata is a perennial herb native to woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

s and heath

Heath (habitat)

A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...

 of southern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It typically flowers in September, in dry sclerophyll

Sclerophyll

Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....

 forests.

Size and shape

The narrow leaves of this plant are up to 60 cm long, by 1.5-4 mm wide. White or pale pink flowers sit atop a thin stalk that is 50-60 cm high. There is a cluster of up to ten carrot-shaped tuber

Tuber

Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...

s at the base, each about 5 mm thick. Each flower has a reddish center, and the flowers occur in groups of 2-10 flowers. A flower measures about 25 mm wide.

Use as food

Aborigines

Australian Aborigines

Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...

eat the potato-like tubers. The tuberous roots can be eaten raw or cooked; they are white, fleshy, and have a nondescript flavor. The tubers are crisp and starchy.

Origin of name

The genus "Burchardia" is named for German botanist Johann Heinrich Burckhardt. The term "umbellata" is Latin for umbrella, referring to the flowers occurring in umbels (an umbrella-like arrangement with flower stems all arising from a common point).

Cultivation

These plants are rarely available in nurseries. But, they are suitable for containers, and can also be grown from seed. The soil must be moist but well drained, and the location must be sunny or lightly shaded.