Onion Weed

Asphodelus fistulosus or Onion Weed is an upright, annual, biennial or short-lived perennial herb with a flowering stem to 80 cm high. The leaves are hollow, round, 3-55 cm long to 8 mm diameter, all growing from the base of the plant. The flower stem is hollow, 3-80 cm long, 2.5-7 mm diameter and branched towards the top. The flowers are white or pink, 1.5-2 cm diameter and arranged alternately along the branches of the flower stem. There are 6 petals, each with a brown or reddish stripe along the centre. The anthers (pollen producers) are orange. The fruit is an almost globular capsule, wrinkled, 4-6 mm diameter, pale red-brown to sandy-brown, with 3-6 brown or black seeds, 3-4 mm long, wrinkled and pitted. The roots are long and fibrous, and yellow (Godden 1993; Parsons & Cuthbertson 2001; Storrie 2003).