Arthropodium strictum

Arthropodium strictum, common name chocolate lily, gets its name from its chocolate scented flowers. Its bush food value, however, comes mainly from its juicy tubers, which can be eaten
raw or cooked. This species is found in grassland, woodland and forest regions of New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.The Chocolate Lily’s edible tubers usually grow to around 3.5cm in length, around 15cm below the surface. Raw tubers are slightly sweet and best eaten when young, as they become bitter over time. Like other varieties of tuber vegetables, they’re are delicious just lightly roasted with a bit of salt of butter. The fragrant flowers are also edible, and may be added to salads or used as decorative toppings for cakes, biscuits and tarts. Tubers are ready for harvest when the plant is in bloom (September — December), producing blue-violet flowers that smell remarkably of chocolate (sometimes with vanilla or caramel notes).

Significance to the Ganai community.
As a food plant, see details above.

245.00 Location Many specimens form part of the Tarwin River bank restoration plantings especially just east of Forrester Lodge. Planted in 2021