Common Name: Californian Hyacinth

General Information

Brodiaea coronaria is a perennial plant sending up a cluster of usually 2 - 3 grass-like leaves and a leafless flowering scape up to 25cm tall from a fibrous-coated corm[]. The plant produces new corms at the base of the old one, in time forming a cluster of plants[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Western N. America - British Columbia to California

Habitat

Gravelly prairies, grassy slopes and rocky buffs[]. Grasslands, volcanic mesas; at elevations from sea level to 1,600 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Corm
Height	0.25 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Brodiaea coronaria is native to temperate and warm temperate regions of western N. America, growing at elevations up to 1,600 metres and experiencing both frost and snow. Susceptible to damage in severe winters, the plant can be protected by adding an organic mulch to the soil. More important, prehaps, is protecting the plant from wet conditions, especially once it dies down in late summer until it comes into growth in the spring[, ].
Prefers a rich sandy loam and a well-drained soil in a sheltered position[, ]. Succeeds in most soils and situations[]. Likes plenty of moisture whilst in growth, followed by a warm dry period in late summer to autumn[].
A very ornamental plant[], it can flower in 2 years from seed[].
When harvesting the corms from the wild, the native N. Americans followed a few simple rules to ensure that there would be good harvests in future years. Firstly, they would not harvest all the plants, making sure there were mature seed-producing plants the following year. When harvesting the corms, they would replant any smaller corms attached to the large one. Harvesting would usually take place after the plants had produced seed, also harvesting the seed and scattering it in suitable places. They would also periodically burn the area where the plants were growing whilst the plants were dormant, thus reducing competition from other species[].

Edible Uses

Corm - raw or cooked[, , ]. Baked or boiled and eaten like potatoes[]. When slowly roasted, it becomes very sweet[].

Edible fruit[]. This report is rather dubious and possibly refers to the seedpod since the seed is encased in a small dry capsule[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[]. The seed can also be sown in spring in a cold frame[]. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 months at 15°c[]. Sow the seed thinly so that it will not require thinning and grow the seedlings on undisturbed in the pot for their first year. Pot up the small bulbs when they are dormant in early autumn and grow them on for at least another year before planting them out when dormant in the autumn. Seedlings are prone to damping off, they should be watered with care and given plenty of ventilation[].
Division in autumn[]. Dig up the clumps of corms when they are dormant, divide them and replant the larger corms into their permanent positions. It is best to pot up the smaller corms and grow them on for a year in a cold frame, planting them out in late summer or the autumn.