Blandfordia nobilis

Last updated

Christmas bells
Blandfordia nobilis Berowra Valley.JPG
Christmas Bell flowers at Berowra Valley Regional Park, Australia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Blandfordiaceae
Genus: Blandfordia
Species:
B. nobilis
Binomial name
Blandfordia nobilis
Synonyms [1]

Blandfordia nobilis var. imperialisW.Mill. & N.Taylor in L.H.Bailey

Contents

Blandfordia nobilis, commonly known as Christmas bells or gadigalbudyari in Cadigal language, [2] is a flowering plant endemic to New South Wales, Australia. It is a tufted, perennial herbs with narrow, linear leaves and between three and twenty large, drooping, cylindrical to bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are brownish red with yellow tips. It is one of four species of Blandfordia known as Christmas bells, this one growing on the coast and ranges south of Sydney.

Description

Blandfordia nobilis has thick, fibrous roots that can form strong, long-lived clumps. The leaves are stiff and grassy, up to 75 cm (30 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide, sometimes with small teeth. The flowering stems is unbranched, up to 80 cm (31 in) long and 6 mm (0.24 in) wide with between three and twenty flowers, each on a pedicel stalk up to 35 mm (1.4 in) long with a small bract near its base. The three sepals and three petals are fused to form a cylindrical flower usually 20–30 mm (0.79–1.2 in) long and about 10 mm (0.39 in) wide. The base of the flower is narrowed and the end has six pointed lobes about 5 mm (0.20 in) long. The flower is usually brownish red with yellow lobes. The stamens are attached to the inside wall of the flower tube, just below its middle. Flowering occurs from September to February, with a peak in December and January, and is followed by the fruit which is a capsule about 60 mm (2.4 in) long on a stalk up to 25 mm (0.98 in) long. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Blandfordia nobilis was first formally described in 1804 by English botanist James Edward Smith who published the description in Exotic Botany from dried specimens sent from Sydney by the colonial surgeon, John White. [1] [5] The type specimen was collected from Port Jackson about the year 1800. Blandfordia nobilis was first published in 1804 by English botanist James Edward Smith, and it still bears its original name. [6] [7] The specific epithet (nobilis) is a Latin word meaning "well-known", "celebrated" or "noble". [8]

Distribution and habitat

Blandfordia nobilis grows on poor sandstone soils and swampy areas, between the towns of Sydney, Milton and Braidwood. [2] In wet heathland it is associated with sundews ( Drosera ) and Schoenus brevifolius . [4]

Use in horticulture

Seeds of B. nobilis were sent to English plant nurseries at about the same time as dried specimens were sent to the botanist, Smith. However, it was not until 1818 that the plants first flowered. It is not clear which species had flowered as at least some species called B. cunninghamii were in fact B. nobilis. [3] [7]

Culture

Blandiflora nobilis is the subject of a Christmas Song "My Little Christmas Belle" published in 1909 by Sydney's popular song composer Joe Slater (1872-1926) with lyrics by Scottish entertainer Ward McAlister (1872-1928). The copy in the National Library of Australia bears a cartoon depiction of the blossom. [9]

Paintings

Related Research Articles

<i>Epacris impressa</i> Plant of the heath family, Ericaceae, that is native to southeast Australia

Epacris impressa, also known as common heath, is a species of plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to south-eastern Australia. French botanist Jacques Labillardière collected the species in 1793 and described it in 1805. Four forms have been identified, but no subspecies are recognised. Growing in heathland, shrubland or open forest, it is generally a small shrub around 0.5 to 1 m tall, with small stiff leaves. The red, pink or white tube-like flowers appear from late autumn to early spring. Honeyeater birds, particularly the eastern spinebill, feed upon the nectar of the flowers. It regenerates after bushfire by seed or by resprouting.

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

Blandfordia, commonly known as Christmas bells, is a genus of four species of flowering plants native to eastern Australia. Christmas bells are tufted, perennial herbs with narrow, linear leaves and up to twenty large, drooping, cylindrical or bell-shaped flowers.

<i>Banksia nobilis</i> Species of shrub in Western Australia

Banksia nobilis, commonly known as the golden dryandra, great dryandra or kerosene bush, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae which is endemic to Western Australia. It occurs on lateritic rises from Eneabba to Katanning in the state's Southwest Botanic Province. With large pinnatifid leaves with triangular lobes, and a golden or reddish pink inflorescence, it is a popular garden plant. It was known as Dryandra nobilis until 2007, when all Dryandra species were transferred to Banksia by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele. There are two subspecies, B. nobilis subsp. nobilis and B. nobilis subsp. fragrans.

<i>Blandfordia punicea</i> Species of flowering plant

Blandfordia punicea, commonly known as Tasmanian Christmas bell, is a species of flowering plant that is endemic to western Tasmania. It is a tufted perennial herb with linear leaves and drooping red, bell-shaped flowers that are yellow on the inside.

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

Howittia is a genus of plant containing the single species, Howittia trilocularis, commonly known as blue howittia, and is endemic to Australia. It is a tall shrub found growing in shaded valleys and on rainforest edges, it has hairy leaves and single, purple flowers.

<i>Blandfordia grandiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Blandfordia grandiflora, commonly known as Christmas bells, is a flowering plant endemic to eastern Australia. It is a tufted perennial herb with narrow, channelled, linear leaves and between two and twenty large, drooping, bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are red with yellow tips, or sometimes entirely yellow. It is one of four species of Blandfordia known as Christmas bells, this one growing on the coast and nearby ranges between Sydney in New South Wales and Fraser Island in Queensland.

<i>Dipodium punctatum</i> Species of orchid

Dipodium punctatum, commonly known as the blotched hyacinth-orchid, is a leafless orchid that is a native to eastern and south-eastern continental Australia. In summer it produces a tall flowering stem with up to sixty pale to bright pink flowers with heavy red blotches. A widespread and common species it is often confused with D. roseum and some authorities regard it as a synonym of D. squamatum.

<i>Pandorea pandorana</i> Species of plant

Pandorea pandorana, commonly known as the wonga wonga vine or wonga-vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae and is native to Australia, Malesia and the southwestern Pacific region. It is a woody scrambler or climber with pinnate leaves, juvenile leaves differing from those of mature plants. The flowers are tubular or funnel-shaped and white with purple markings and the fruit are capsules containing winged seeds. It is easy species to germinate and is a popular garden plant. Common cultivars include the yellow-flowered P. 'Golden Showers', the white-flowered P. 'Snowbells', and the pinkish P. 'Ruby Belle'. The wood was used in making spears for woomeras in the Central and Western deserts.

<i>Melaleuca ericifolia</i> Species of tree

Melaleuca ericifolia, commonly known as swamp paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and the genus Melaleuca, native to south-eastern Australia. It is a rather variable species and some specimens resemble Melaleuca armillaris but its papery bark and smaller, more prolific flower heads distinguish it from that species. It often grows in swampy areas and the draining and clearing of these has reduced the numbers of the species, especially around Port Philip Bay near Melbourne. It is also similar to Melaleuca pustulata, a Tasmanian endemic, but that species only grows in dry heath.

<i>Eucalyptus torquata</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus torquata, commonly known as coral gum or Coolgardie gum, is an endemic tree of Western Australia. The species is cultivated for use in gardens and as a street tree.

<i>Grevillea johnsonii</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to New South Wales, Australia

Grevillea johnsonii, commonly known as Johnson's grevillea or Johnson's spider flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a shrub with divided, needle-like leaves and red to orange flowers, and grows in rocky places.

<i>Grevillea willisii</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Victoria, Australia

Grevillea willisii, commonly known as Omeo grevillea or rock grevillea, is species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae, and is endemic to the eastern highlands of Victoria, Australia. It is a spreading to erect shrub with pinnatipartite leaves, the end lobes broadly triangular to oblong and sometimes sharply pointed, and dense clusters of greenish-white to fawn-coloured flowers with a white to cream-coloured style.

<i>Epacris obtusifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris obtusifolia, commonly known as blunt-leaf heath, is a species of flowering plant from the heath family, Ericaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with few stems, crowded, oblong to elliptic leaves and tube-shaped white or cream-coloured flowers arranged along the stems.

<i>Grevillea albiflora</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae native to Australia

Grevillea albiflora, commonly known as white spider flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to inland eastern Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with pinnatisect leaves with linear lobes, and white to creamy-green flowers.

<i>Prostanthera walteri</i> Species of flowering plant

Prostanthera walteri, commonly known as blotchy mint-bush, is a species of flowering plant that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a sprawling shrub with tangled, hairy branches, egg-shaped leaves and usually bluish green flowers with prominent purple veins arranged singly in leaf axils.

<i>Blandfordia cunninghamii</i> Species of flowering plant

Blandfordia cunninghamii is one of four species of flowering plant commonly known as Christmas bells. It is a tufted, perennial herb endemic to the Blue Mountains and Illawarra regions of eastern Australia. It has long, narrow, linear leaves and between twelve and thirty large, drooping, cylindrical to bell-shaped red flowers with yellow tips.

Eremophila falcata is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a widely distributed shrub with distinctive curved leaves and white, lilac-coloured or pink flowers.

<i>Sarcochilus hillii</i> Species of orchid

Sarcochilus hillii, commonly known as myrtle bells, is a small epiphytic orchid native to eastern Australia and New Caledonia. It has up to ten drooping, quill-shaped leaves and up to ten frosty white or pink flowers that have a hairy labellum with purple stripes.

<i>Pultenaea rosmarinifolia</i> Species of legume

Pultenaea rosmarinifolia, commonly known as rosemary bush-pea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with linear to elliptic leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow and red to purplish flowers.

<i>Androcalva rossii</i> Species of shrub

Androcalva rossii, commonly known as native hemp, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is spindly shrub or small tree that forms suckers, its branchlets covered with star-shaped hairs, and has egg-shaped leaves with irregular teeth on the edges, and groups of 18 to 60 white or cream-coloured flowers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Blandfordia nobilis". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. 1 2 3 Quirico, Anna-Louise. "Blandfordia nobilis". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Blandfordia nobilis". Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 Benson, Doug; McDougall, Lyn (2002). "Ecology of Sydney plant species: Part 9 Monocotyledon families Agavaceae to Juncaginaceae". Cunninghamia. 7 (4): 743. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  5. Smith, James Edward (1804). Exotic Botany (Volume 1). London: R. Taylor & Co. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  6. "Blandfordia nobilis". APNI. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  7. 1 2 Cavanagh, Tony. "Blandfordia in history". Australian Native Plants Society (Australia). Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  8. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 419.
  9. McAlister, Ward; Slater, Joe. "My little Christmas belle [music]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 January 2019.