Common Name: Slime Lily

General Information

Albuca canadensis is a perennial plant producing 5 - 10 leaves up to 45cm long from an underground bulb up to 5cm in diameter. The plant produces a flowering stem up to 120cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as an emergency source of water.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

S. Africa - Cape Province.

Habitat

Deep sandy soils on flats and lower slopes, usually near the sea[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Bulb
Height	0.40 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Albuca canadensis is found wild in the Mediterranean-like climate of Cape Province in S. Africa. It succeeds outdoors in areas of the Temperate zone where frosts are short-lived and light, with occasional temperatures dipping no lower than -5°, and in such areas grow well in a wild or informal garden[].
Requires a sheltered position in full sun in a light well-drained soil[].

Edible Uses

The succulent stems are chewed to allay thirst[]. They are rather mucilaginous[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in a light well-drained compost as soon as it is ripe if possible, otherwise in spring. Sow the seed thinly so that the young plants can be grown on in the same pot for their first year of growth. Apply a liquid feed from time to time if the seedlings look as though they need nutrients and prick them out at the end of their first growing season. Grow on the plants for at least their next winter in a greenhouse and plant out when the bulbs are dormant in late summer or early autumn.
Division of offsets in late summer.