Common name: Blueberry Lily, Blue Flax-Lily
Dianella longifolia R.Br. APNI* Description: Perennial herb tufted, solitary; roots fleshy-fibrous or tuberous.
Leaves to 80 cm long; sheath rounded to keeled on lower surface, less than half occluded; blade 2–25 mm wide.
Inflorescence exceeding foliage. Outer tepals 6–10 mm long, 5-veined; inner tepals 5.5–9 mm long, 3-veined. Stamens with filament swellings 1–2.3 mm long, orange; anthers pale yellow.
Berry 3–7 mm long.
Flowering: spring–summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Widespread. Common in sclerophyll forest.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, SC, NT, CT, ST, NWS, CWS, SWS, NWP
Other Australian states: Qld Vic. Tas. N.T. S.A. W.A.
Text by K. L. Wilson (1993); edited KL Wilson (June 2022)
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW vol. 4 (1993); based on R. Henderson (1987) Flora of Australia vol. 45
| | Key to the varieties | |
| 1 | Leaves 4–25 mm wide; roots fleshy-fibrous | 2 |
| Leaves <4 mm wide; roots tuberous. Plant to 0.5 m high; tufts <2 cm diam. at base. Leaves suberect, ± grey-green, purplish red at base; blade to 3 mm wide. Flowers pale blue to whitish | var. stenophylla |
| 2 | Leaves <10 mm wide; plants forming small tufts to 5 cm diam. at base | var. longifolia |
| Leaves 8–25 mm wide; plants forming large tufts to 50 cm diam
Back to 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Seeds usually >3.3 mm long; lowest leaf blades usually strongly spreading to recurved, glaucous or bluish green; leaf about same breadth throughout its length (i.e. scarcely narrowed to the zone of occlusion); leaf sheaths pallid or pale brown; cymules 2–10-flowered. Plant to 1.2 m high; tufts to 60 cm diam. at base. Leaves strongly spreading to recurved, glaucous or rarely pruinose-purple, bases pallid to pale brown; blade 8–20 mm wide. Flowers pale blue to green-blue | var. porracea (now Dianella porracea, q.v.) |
| Seeds usually <3.3 mm long; leaf blades suberect, glaucous or grey-green; leaf blade and sheath both narrowing to the zone of occlusion; leaf sheaths green or purplish; cymules 3–22-flowered. Plant to 1.5 m high; tufts 5–50 cm diam. at base. Leaves suberect, green to glaucous, pale brown to purplish at base; blade 4–25 mm wide. Flowers white to mid blue
Back to 2 | var. longifolia |
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
|
