Xanthorrhoea macronema F.Muell. ex Benth. APNI* 
Description: Trunk absent; stem sometimes branched below ground; crowns 1-many, in a loosely upright or deflexed tuft.
Leaves obtrullate, irregularly rounded depressed-cuneate or concave in T.S., usually 2.3–3.5 mm wide, 1.2–1.8 mm thick, light to dark green, not glaucous.
Scape 1–1.6 m long, 4–5 mm diam.; spike less than a tenth as long as scape, 5–13 cm long, 1.4–2 cm diam.; cluster bracts obscure; packing bracts shortly acute to acute, glabrous. Outer tepals acute, beaked, without proboscis, glabrous. Inner tepals prominent, erect, with proboscis, glabrous except for very few hairs at apex.
Flowering: July–January
Distribution and occurrence: Grows in sclerophyll forest on coastal sands and ranges; north from the Sydney region.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC
Other Australian states: Qld
Distinctive in its habit, with long thin scape and short brush-like spike, large cream to yellow flowers with inner tepals much larger than other species, long-pointed fruit with persistent styles and rounded glossy seed. Leaves longer (1–2 m) than in most species, with stomates in subsurface hair-lined chambers rather than singly as all other N.S.W. species.
Text by D. J. Bedford
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 4 (1993)
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.
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