Alstrœmeria

Alstrœmeria, or Alströmer's Lily, a genus of Amaryllidaceæ (q.v.), cultivated for its flowers and curiously twisted leaves, which have the upper in the normal position of the lower surface. Some have climbing or twining stems; amongst these is the beautiful salsilla (A. salsilla), a native of Peru, which is cultivated in the West Indies, and its tubers eaten like those of the potato. In Britain, it requires the stove or a hot-bed. A. ovata, also a beautiful plant, with a slender twining stem and ovate leaves, is cultivated in Chili for its tubers, which weigh 3 to 6 ounces, and are used as food. A kind of arrowroot is also prepared in Chili from the succulent roots of A. palida and other species.