Dianella (plant)

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Dianella
Dianella flowers.jpg
Dianella sp.
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Hemerocallidoideae
Genus: Dianella
Lam. ex Juss. [1]
Synonyms [1]

Diana Comm. ex Lam.

Dianella revoluta flower Dianella revoluta revoluta.jpg
Dianella revoluta flower
Dianella sandwicensis fruit Starr 060221-6063 Dianella sandwicensis.jpg
Dianella sandwicensis fruit

Dianella is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the monocot family Asphodelaceae and are commonly known as flax lilies. [2] Plants in this genus are tufted herbs with more or less linear leaves and bisexual flowers with three sepals more or less similar to three petals and a superior ovary, the fruit a berry. They occur in Africa, South-east Asia, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia.

Contents

Several species of this genus, or the whole genus, are sometimes referred to by the common name blue flax lily, particularly in Australia. [3] [4]

Description

Plants in the genus Dianella are tufted perennial, rhizomatous herbs with fibrous or fleshy roots, more or less linear leaves with their bases overlapping, bisexual flowers with three sepals more or less similar to three blue, purple or white petals and a superior ovary, and the fruit a berry. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Taxonomy

The name Dianella was first formally published by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1786 in his Encyclopédie Méthodique , [9] but this did not validly establish the name because Lamarck did not include a description of the new genus. [10] Antoine Laurent de Jussieu made it a correct name in 1789 when he published a description in the first edition of his Genera Plantarum . [11] [12] The name Dianella is a reference to the Roman goddess Diana with the suffix ella meaning "small". [13]

The genus Dianella is closely related to Thelionema and Herpolirion . [14]

Distribution and habitat

Plants in the genus Dianella occur in Africa, South-east Asia, the Pacific Islands including Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia. About half of the species are native to Australia. [15]

Species list

The following is a list of Dianella species accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as at October 2020:

Uses

Several species of Dianella are grown for their attractive foliage and shiny, blue to purple berries. [16]

Reports of the edibility of the fruit range from very poisonous [17] [18] to sweet and nutty (such as D. caerulea), [19] and the beach flax lily (D. congesta) is reportedly the best-tasting. [20]

The leaves are used to weave dillies and baskets by Indigenous Australians. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Dracophyllum</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<i>Dianella tasmanica</i> Species of flowering plant

Dianella tasmanica, commonly known as the Tasman flax-lily or Tasmanian flax-lily is a herbaceous strappy perennial herb of the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, found in southeastern Australia including Tasmania. It has leaves to 80 cm, and a flower stem to 1.5 m. Blue flowers in spring and summer are followed by violet berries. It adapts readily to cultivation and is commonly seen in Australian gardens. Unlike other Dianella species, its fruit is toxic.

<i>Dianella caerulea</i> Species of flowering plant

Dianella caerulea, commonly known as the blue flax-lily, blueberry lily, or paroo lily, is a perennial herb of the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, found across the eastern states of Australia and Tasmania. It is a herbaceous strappy perennial plant to a metre high, with dark green blade-like leaves to 70 cm long. Blue flowers in spring and summer are followed by indigo-coloured berries. It adapts readily to cultivation and is commonly seen in Australian gardens and amenities plantings.

<i>Parsonsia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Parsonsia is a genus of woody vines in the family Apocynaceae. Species occur throughout Indomalaya, Australasia and Melanesia.

<i>Gahnia</i> Genus of grass-like plants

Gahnia is a genus of sedges native to China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and a number of Pacific Islands. The common name is due to the toothed margins. It often forms tussocks.

<i>Utricularia uliginosa</i> Species of plant

Utricularia uliginosa, the Asian bladderwort, is a small annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Australia. U. uliginosa grows as a terrestrial or subaquatic plant in seasonally flooded shallow pools with sandy soils or on banks and among rocky stream beds at low altitudes. It was originally described by Martin Vahl in 1804.

<i>Caesia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Caesia is a genus of herbs in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, native to Australia, New Guinea, Madagascar and Southern Africa. The mostly 3-lobed seed capsules contain rounded black seeds. The genus was named in honour of Federico Cesi (1585-1630), an Italian scientist.

<i>Astelia</i> Genus of plants

Astelia is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southernmost tip of South America. A significant number of the known species are endemic to New Zealand. The species generally grow in forests, swamps and amongst low alpine vegetation; occasionally they are epiphytic.

<i>Thelionema</i> Genus of flowering plants

Thelionema is a small genus of tufted perennials in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae. All three species, which were previously placed in the genus Stypandra, are native to Australia. These are:

<i>Amegilla bombiformis</i> Species of bee from Australia

Amegilla bombiformis, commonly known as the teddy bear bee or golden haired mortar bee, is an Australian native bee in the family Apidae.

<i>Dianella revoluta</i> Species of flowering plant

Dianella revoluta, commonly known as blueberry lily, blue flax-lily, or black-anther flax-lily, a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae and is endemic to, and widespread in Australia. It is a tufted, perennial herb with grass-like leaves and up to nine blue or violet flowers with six tepals, and stamens with bright yellow filaments and pale brown to almost black anthers.

The Black Andrew Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve located on the south west slopes of New South Wales, Australia. The 1,559-hectare (3,850-acre) reserve is situated on the southern shore of Burrinjuck Dam on the Murrumbidgee River, an important reservoir for the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.

<i>Corynotheca</i> Genus of flowering plants

Corynotheca is a genus of herbs in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, first described as a genus in 1878. The entire genus is endemic to Australia.

  1. Corynotheca asperataR.J.F.Hend - Western Australia, Northern Territory
  2. Corynotheca flexuosissimaR.J.F.Hend. - Western Australia
  3. Corynotheca lateriflora(R.Br.) F.Muell. ex Benth. - Northern Territory
  4. Corynotheca licrotaR.J.F.Hend. - Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia
  5. Corynotheca micrantha(Lindl.) Druce - Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia
  6. Corynotheca pungensR.J.F.Hend. - Western Australia
<i>Dianella longifolia</i> Perennial herb

Dianella longifolia, commonly known as blueberry lily, pale flax lily or smooth flax lily, or blue flax-lily, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae and is endemic to non-arid areas of Australia. It is a tufted, rhizomatous, perennial herb with grass-like leaves, pale blue, white or greenish flowers that have pale yellow anthers, and shiny, pale blue berries.

<i>Dianella amoena</i> Species of flowering plant

Dianella amoena, commonly known as the matted flax-lily, is an endangered, herbaceous, perennial plant endemic to Australia. It belongs to the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae. It has long grey-green leaves which grow in clumps from an underground rhizome, and displays blue-purple flowers in spring-summer, up to 90cm in height. The common name Matted Flax-lily refers to its extensively rhizomatous nature, sometimes forming large mats up to 5m wide.

Dianella brevipedunculata is a species of flax lily native to Eastern Australia. It is known as the blue flax lily.

References

  1. 1 2 "Dianella". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  2. Robinson, Les (1991). Field guide to the native plants of Sydney. Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 231. ISBN   0864171927.
  3. "Blue flax lily (Dianella)". Children’s Health Queensland. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  4. "Dianella caerulea – Blue Flax Lily". Gardening With Angus. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  5. Henderson, Rodney J.F. "Dianella Lam". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  6. Conran, John G. "Dianella". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  7. Wilson, Karen L. "Genus Dianella". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  8. "Dianella Lam". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  9. Lamarck, Jean Baptiste (1786). Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique. Vol. 2. Paris. p. 276. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  10. Rodney J.F. Henderson. 1977. Typification of Dianella Lam. ex Juss. (Liliaceae). Taxon 26(1):131-137.
  11. "Dianella". APNI. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  12. Jussieu, Antoine L. (1789). Antonii Laurentii de Jussieu Genera plantarum. Paris. p. 41. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  13. Collis, Robyn. "Dianella revoluta". Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  14. Dion S. Devey, Ilia Leitch, Paula J. Rudall, J. Chris Pires, Yohan Pillon, and Mark W. Chase. "Systematics of Xanthorrhoeaceae sensu lato, with an emphasis on Bulbine". Aliso22(Monocots: Comparative Biology and Evolution):345-351. ISSN 0065-6275.
  15. Starting out with Natives, John Wriggley & Murray Fagg
  16. Anthony Huxley, Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (1992). The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. The Macmillan Press, Limited: London. The Stockton Press: New York. ISBN   978-0-333-47494-5 (set).
  17. "Garden plants poisonous to people" (PDF). New South Wales Government Department of Primary Industries. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  18. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2011-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. "Aboriginal bush foods - Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust - Sydney, Australia". Archived from the original on 2011-09-03. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  20. 1 2 Wild food plants of Australia, Tim Low