Dichopogon strictus aka Chocolate Lilly

Dichopogon strictus has the common name chocolate lily. It is part of the Asparagaceae family. The RHS gives another name for it: Arthropodium strictum. Kew places its native range in two regions. These are southeastern New Guinea and southeastern Australia. Plants For A Future lists several Australian states. Its list includes Tasmania. The plant grows in open forest, heathland, and grassland. Its wild sites include sandy ground. Kew calls its climate subtropical. It is not native to Britain or Ireland.

This perennial grows to about 3 feet [0.9 metres] tall. It stores reserves in tubers beneath the soil. Each plant can form several of these swollen roots. The tubers reach about 0.11 feet [0.035 metres] long. They can lie about 0.5 feet [0.15 metres] below ground. The flowers smell of chocolate, hence the common name. Each flower has both male and female organs. Plants For A Future gives November as a bloom time. Read that date in light of its southern native range.

Choose a sunny site, not shade, for garden growth. Plants For A Future suggests sandy loam with leaf mould. It also notes success in most soils in Australian gardens. Its soil guidance covers sand, loam, and clay. The plant likes moist soil, but water must drain well. It accepts mildly acid soils and neutral soils. Mildly alkaline soils suit it too. Its planting notes suggest a sunny woodland edge. They also list sites by south-facing or west-facing walls. The scent makes paths a good place to grow it.

Take care when you choose a site based on cold. Reports from Australian gardens note survival at temperatures of at least −7°C. Plants For A Future warns that British hardiness may differ. Cooler summers may change the result. So may longer, wetter winters. Plants grown outdoors there may need some cover for protection. Sow seed under glass in spring to raise new plants. Give seedlings their own pots once large enough to handle. Keep them under glass for their first winter. Plant out after late spring frosts, or in early summer. You can also raise plants by division, splitting them apart.

You can eat the roots raw or cooked. They often taste sweet, but some taste bitter. You can eat the flowers raw too. Plants For A Future lists no known hazards. This does not prove safety for pets or every use. It lists no known uses in medicine. Nor does it list other practical uses. The same source does not flag this plant as weedy.