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11 Gymea Lily
Doryanthes excelsa
Habitat: Coast and adjacent plateaus
Season: Summer - Spring flowering
Honey-eaters love the nectar of these large, crimson flowers on stems 2-3
m tall. These birds were ready prey to be cooked and eaten!
Aboriginal people in the Lake Macquarie district of NSW were observed in
1836 roasting the stems, having cut them when a foot and a half high and
as thick as a person's arm. They also roasted the roots which they made
into a sort of cake to be eaten cold.
Gymea Lily