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Maori Onion

Bulbinella angustifolia

Maori Onion
Photo: John Barkla, CC BY 4.0

Maori onion is a perennial herb from the South Island of New Zealand, growing up to about 100 cm tall in tussock grasslands. It is grown mainly as a hardy native plant in cool, moist conditions.

Family
Asphodelaceae (Aloe family)
Grows as
Bulb
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep soil moist during the growing season and avoid drying out completely.
Soil
Moist but well-drained soil, loam or sandy loam.
Temperature
Hardy to cold; tolerates frost and cool subalpine conditions. Protect from prolonged heat above about 30 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
New Zealand South I.
Climate
subalpine or subarctic

About

Bulbinella angustifolia, commonly known as the Māori onion, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand, mostly found in Canterbury and Otago. It is commonly found in tussock grasslands in areas with moderate moisture contents. B. angustifolia reaches a height of up to 100 cm (40 in) tall. B. angustifolia was first described in 1911 by the New Zealand botanist Leonard Cockayne. It gets its specific epithet, angustifolia, derived from the Latin angustus and folius, meaning 'narrow-leaved'.

Where it grows

Bulbinella angustifolia is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand, ranging from approximately the Hurunui River, in the Canterbury Region, southwards through the Canterbury Plains, Otago, and the Southland Region. It is not found west of the Southern Alps. B. angustifolia's 2023 assessment in the New Zealand Threat Classification System was "Not Threatened".

Other Bulbinella plants

Bulbinella barkerae · Cat's Tail Bulbinella · Birdsnest Catstail · Bulbinella gibbsii · Maori Onion · Bulbinella modesta · Water Catstail · Ross Lily · Bulbinella talbotii · Catstails

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Bulbinella angustifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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