About Microseris scapigera (A.Cunn.) Sch.Bip.
Microseris scapigera (A.Cunn.) Sch.Bip. is a yellow-flowered perennial herb daisy found in New Zealand and Australia. It is the only species of the Microseris genus native to New Zealand, and one of three Microseris species found in Australia, alongside Microseris lanceolata and Microseris walteri. This species belongs to the tribe Cichorieae, a plant group that also includes chicory and dandelion. The plant commonly known as murnong or "yam daisy" was previously referred to as M. scapigera, M. lanceolata, or M. forsteri, but is now classified as M. walteri. Currently, M. scapigera is rare and classified as vulnerable due to habitat loss. Microseris scapigera does not produce tubers; it grows roots that are fleshy, only slightly fibrous, and slightly but tolerably bitter when eaten raw. It is possible that Indigenous Australians also ate this plant, though historical records describe murnong as having a sweet tuber. The bitter taste of M. scapigera roots can be removed by blanching the roots in boiling water for 5 minutes before consumption or further cooking. Aboriginal populations in southeastern Australia relied on the tubers of daisy yam (murnong) as a staple food, and actively cultivated the species. In Thura-Yura languages, daisy yam is known as ngampa.
