Herb: Milkmaids


Latin name: Burchardia umbellata


Family: Colchicaceae



Edible parts of Milkmaids:

Root - raw or cooked. Starchy but a non-descript flavour. Pleasantly starchy, much like raw potato.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
60 cm
(2 feet)

Flowering:
May

Habitat of the herb:

Heaths, flats, open forests and low hillsides in all regions.

Propagation of Milkmaids:

Seed - we have no information on this plant but would advise sowing the seed in a warm greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the summer or sowing the stored seed in a greenhouse in the spring. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division.

Cultivation of the herb:

Heaths, flats, open forests and low hillsides in all regions.

Medicinal use of Milkmaids:

None known

Known hazards of Burchardia umbellata:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.