CAT-00007
Native leek
Bulbine bulbosa
Catalog fields
- Genus
- Bulbine
- Photo
- Not recorded
- Edible
- Yes
- layout
- single
- Habitat
- Grows in damp areas of grassland, woodland and open forest; remains dormant except in favourable seasons.
- Published
- Yes
- Food group
- Root / tuber
- Latin name
- Bulbine bulbosa
- Fruit photo
- Not recorded
- Plant title
- Native leek
- Source URLs
- https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Bulbine%20bulbosa | https://www.australianplantsonline.com.au/bulbine-bulbosa.html | https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2003/bulbine-bulbosa.html | https://resources.austplants.com.au/plant/bulbine-bulbosa/ Open source ↗ Open source 2 ↗ Open source 3 ↗ Open source 4 ↗
- Catalogue ID
- CAT-00007
- Mature width
- About 0.3 m
- Native range
- Widespread in inland Qld S of Hughenden, N.S.W., Vic., south-eastern S.A. including Eyre Peninsula and the Flinders Ranges, and northern Tas.
- Plant family
- Asphodelaceae
- Supplier SKU
- BULBUL
- Listing group
- Original garden variety
- Mature height
- 0.3-0.7 m including spikes
- Native states
- NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC
- Original list
- Yes
- Research date
- 10/10/2026
- Research notes
- Species confirmed by supplier; drought assessment based on watering advice. Seasons vary with climate, location, cultivar and plant maturity.
- Evidence status
- Original variety; food-use detail review pending
- Fruiting season
- Capsules after flowering; regional timing not yet confirmed
- Background photo
- Not recorded
- Edible component
- Cooked corm
- Flowering season
- Often autumn in QLD/NSW; spring also possible
- Brief description
- Clumping perennial; succulent grassy leaves; yellow flower spikes.
- Drought tolerance
- Not highly drought hardy; water in prolonged dry spells; may become dormant.
- Preparation notes
- Corm requires cooking; leaves are not the listed food part. Confirm preparation before use.
- Flower description
- Yellow, star-shaped flowers on upright spikes.
- General cultivation
- General guidance (qualitative): Sun; moist sandy/loamy soil; frost tolerant; supplier advises avoiding grazing animals.
- Botanical description
- Perennial herb; bulb-shaped tuber usually present. Roots thickened. Leaves usually 3-10, linear, channelled, 1.5-8 mm wide, green, rarely glaucous, often slightly scabrid. Scapes usually 1 or 2, terete, erect. Perianth segments 9-22 mm long. Stamens ±equal, closely bunched or spreading; all filaments with clavate or acute hairs at apex, partly concealing anther; anthers yellow, ±basifixed, all or some remaining erect after dehiscence and sometimes twisting about vertical axis. Ovules 3-8 per locule; style decumbent, 2.5-9 mm long; stigma entire. Capsule globose to obovate, 4-7 mm long; pedicel 10-28 mm long, not drooping at end. Seeds smooth, slightly tuberculate or slightly ridged.
- Other botanical names
- Not recorded
- Attracts birds and bugs
- Native bees, wasps and beetles visit flowers; small insects in foliage.
- Flora of Australia profile
- https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Bulbine%20bulbosa Open source ↗
- Fruit type and description
- Dry seed capsules; underground corm is not a fruit.
- Flora of Australia citation
- E.M.Watson. Bulbine bulbosa. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Bulbine%20bulbosa (accessed 2026-10-14). Copyright Commonwealth of Australia; CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). HTML formatting removed; species-level context added where noted. Open source ↗ Open source 2 ↗
- Flora of Australia retrieved
- 14/10/2026