Thysanotus banksii

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Thysanotus banksii
Thysanotus banksii.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Lomandroideae
Genus: Thysanotus
Species:
T. banksii
Binomial name
Thysanotus banksii
Synonyms [1]
  • Chlamysporum banksii(R.Br.) Britten
  • Thysanotus paniculatusR.Br.
  • Thysanotus tuberosusauct. non R.Br.: Bentham, G. (March 1878)
  • Thysanotus tuberosusauct. non R.Br.: Bailey, F.M. (1902)
  • Thysanotus tuberosusauct. non R.Br.: Ewart, A.J. & Davies, O.B. (1917)
  • Thysanotus tuberosusauct. non R.Br.: Gardner, C.A. (1930)

Thysanotus banksii is a species of flowering plant in the Asparagaceae family, and is native to Australia and New Guinea. It is a perennial herb with a small rootstock, linear leaves, and umbels of purple flowers with elliptic, fringed petals, lance-shaped sepals and six stamens.

Contents

Description

Thysanotus banksii is a clumping perennial herb with a small rootstock, fibrous roots and 3 to 5 channelled annual leaves 20–60 cm (7.9–23.6 in) long and about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide. The flowers are borne in umbels of one or two flowers on a pedicel 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long. The flowers are purple, with perianth segments 7–18 mm (0.28–0.71 in) long, the sepals lance-shaped, about 2 mm (0.079 in) wide, the petals elliptic, about 5 mm (0.20 in) wide with a fringe about 1 mm (0.039 in) long. There are six stamens and the style is about 5 mm (0.20 in) long. The seed is more or less spherical, about 1.5–2.0 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long in diameter with a straw-coloured aril. [2]

Taxonomy

Thysanotus banksii was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae . [3] [4] The specific epithet (banksii) honours Joseph Banks. [5]

Distribution and habitat

This species of Thysanotus grows in forest and moist tea-tree flats and on pebbly ridges from near Rockingham Bay to Cape York, the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland, and islands in the Torres Strait. It also occurs in southern New Guinea. [2]

Conservation status

Thysanotus banksii is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992 . [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Thysanotus banksii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 Brittan, Norman H. "Thysanotus banksii". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  3. ↑ "Thysanotus banksii". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  4. ↑ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum. London: R. Taylor et socii. p. 283. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  5. ↑ George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 143. ISBN   9780645629538.
  6. ↑ "Taxon - Thysanotus banksii". Queensland Government WildNet. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
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