Microseris scapigera aka Native Dandelion

Microseris scapigera is a small perennial in the daisy family, Asteraceae. Its common names include yam daisy and murnong. Kew lists its native range as Victoria, Tasmania, and New Zealand. It grows in temperate regions and returns across several years. It is not native to Britain or Ireland. Plants For A Future records it in New Zealand grasslands and open sites. These records include the North, South, and Stewart Islands.

Plants For A Future gives its height as 1 foot [0.3 metres]. The supplied sources give no mature spread or detailed leaf description. They also provide no account of its stems or fruit. Its flowers have both male and female organs. Insects carry pollen between the flowers. The evidence does not give a flowering season or flower colour. Its small size suits a place among low plants in cultivated beds.

For cultivation, Plants For A Future recommends sun and soil that drains well. It states that this plant cannot grow in shade. It prefers moist ground rather than a dry site. The listed soils include sand, loam, and clay. The stated pH range runs from mildly acid to mildly alkaline. The source also reports that it can grow in saline soil. These broad soil tolerances do not remove the need for drainage. The sources provide no firm hardiness range for British gardens. Plants For A Future suggests that milder British areas may suit it. That assessment remains tentative, rather than a tested hardiness claim.

The root is the edible part, eaten raw or cooked. Plants For A Future gives its food value four out of five. It describes a moist root with a sweet taste. Its flavour can also turn bitter at some times of year. The source gives early winter as one such period. Roots may be gathered throughout the year, according to that account. However, the page combines this species with an Australian taxon. That limits how firmly its detailed food claims apply here.

Plants For A Future lists no known hazards or medicinal uses. It also records no other uses and no weed potential. No supplied source names a pest or disease affecting this species. Those gaps do not establish that it has no problems. Its clearest documented garden roles are a small perennial and root food plant.