Mmmm Chocolate (Lilies!)
One of the most anticipated Spring arrivals in woodland and forest areas in this area is the blooming of the Chocolate Lilies (Dichopogon fimbriatus) not only for the attractive purple flowers but also for the chocolate scent they have. While the tubers are edible there are no reports of them tasting of chocolate (and, no, I haven’t tried eating one – yet, if I get some growing in the nursery I may try breaking off a tuber to try but I did that with a Fringe Lily once and it tasted of detergent).
When not in flower it’s difficult to distinguish from a number of other small grass like lilies but when flowering often grow together in colonies up to a couple of hundred square metres and can be remarkably resilient in lightly grazed unimproved pasture. Each plant can have dozens of flowers and can get to a metre in height (though usually 50-60cm).
Image from: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Dichopogon~fimbriatus
Photo by P. Melehan