Thysanotus fractiflexus

Thysanotus fractiflexus
On Kangaroo Island
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Lomandroideae
Genus:	Thysanotus
Species:	T. fractiflexus
Binomial name
Thysanotus fractiflexus N.H.Brittan [1]

Thysanotus fractiflexus, commonly known as zig-zag fringe-lily ^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the Asparagaceae family, and is endemic to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It is a rhizomatous herb with usually perennial, zig-zagged stems, umbels with two or three purple flowers, with narrowly lance-shaped sepals, more or less circular, fringed petals, six stamens, a style as long as the longer anthers and a cylindrical capsule.

Description

Thysanotus fractiflexus is a perennial herb with a rhizome about 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) in diameter, fibrous roots but has leaves only present in young plants. The stems are perennial, zig-zagged, occasionally straight in older specimens, up to 300 mm (12 in) long and ridged with short, stiff hairs on the ridges. The flowers are purple and borne in two or three umbels, each flower on a pedicel about 7 mm (0.28 in) long. The perianth segments are 10–11 mm (0.39–0.43 in) long, the sepals narrowly lance-shaped, 2.0–2.5 mm (0.079–0.098 in) wide, the petals more or less circular in outline, 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter with a fridge up to 3.5 mm (0.14 in) long. There are six stamens, the anthers twisted, the three outer anthers 4 mm (0.16 in) long and the three inner anthers 6 mm (0.24 in) long and curved. The style is about 6 mm (0.24 in) long and the seeds are subcylindrical, 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long and 1 mm (0.039 in) in diameter with a shortly stalked, orange aril. ^{[3] [4]}

Taxonomy

Thysanotus fractiflexus was first formally described in 1971 by Norman Henry Brittan in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia from specimens he collected on Kangaroo Island in 1960. ^{[4] [5]} The specific epithet (fractiflexus) means 'zig-zag'. ^[6]

Distribution and habitat

Zig-zag fringe-lily grows in open heath to woodland in lateritic gravel to sandy loam on Kangaroo Island. ^[3]

References

1. "Thysanotus fractiflexus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
2. "Thysanotus fractiflexus". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
3. Brittan, Norman H. "Thysanotus fractiflexus". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
4. Brittan, Norman H. (1971). "Thysanotus fractiflexus sp. nov. (liliaceae), endemic to Kangaroo Island, South Australia". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 95: 109–111. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
5. "Thysanotus fractiflexus". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
6. George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 206. ISBN   9780645629538.