Chocolate and Vanilla Lilies - natives (Arthropodium species)

Family: Asparagaceae (Asparagus family). These lilies were formerly included in the Lily family (the Liliaceae). The Lily family has now been broken up into several smaller families.

Key identification features are the presence or absence of hairs on the staminal filaments, and the presence or not of appendages on the anthers. The number of flowers at each node is also important.

	FEATURE	Chocolate Lily (A. strictum)	Small Vanilla Lily (A. minus)	Chocolate Lily sp 3 (A. sp. 3)	Nodding Chocolate Lily (A. fimbriatum)	Pale Vanilla Lily (A. milleflorum)
	Hairs on staminal filaments	none	white to purple	none	none	white to purple
	Anther appendages	bright yellow	none	bright yellow	purple	none
	Flowers per node	one	one	several	several	several
	Flower colour	dark	pale to dark	dark	pale	pale
	Abundance	very common	common.	rare	uncommon	uncommon

Chocolate Lily (Arthropodium stictum).

Recognise by

• flowers are one per node
• the anther appendages are bright yellow
• the stems are usually branched
• the flower stalks are not strongly drooping
• there is a basal rosette of leaves.

It is very common.

Photos: Castlemaine and Maldon

Small Vanilla Lily (Arthropodium minus)

Recognise by

• the rather short usually unbranched stem
• the filament hairs (below the anthers) are white or purple
• the flowers are usually one per node
• the plant and the flowers are usually smaller than those of Chocolate Lily
• the flowers are pendent

It is moderately common.

Photos: Muckleford and Castlemaine Botanic Gardens.

Arthropodium species 3.

It resembles a Chocolate Lily but but has more than one flower per node.

it differs from Nodding Chocolate Lily by the non-nodding flowers, and the anther appendages.

This chocolate lily was reported from the Sandon district. I have not found it, but it could readily be overlooked. Flowers later than A.minus and A. strictum



Nodding Chocolate Lily (Arthropodium fimbriatum).

Recognise by

• it has more than one flower per node
• the flowers are drooping (and hence the name Nodding Chocolate Lily)
• the filamemt below the stamens do not have hairs, but it does have purple anther appendages
• the basal leaves have usually withered at flowering time
• flowers later than A.minus and A. strictum.

It is moderately common.

Photos: Maldon.


Pale Vanilla Lily (Arthropodium milleflorum.) Recognise by

• the pale flowers
• the branched stems
• the filaments which are hairy
• the filament hairs are often white, but turn to purple just below the anthers.

It is uncommon in the dry forests. It is much more common in higher rainfall areas.

Photos: Mt Buffalo and Metcalfe.

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