Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Dianella tasmanica

Flowers and spent flowers. Photographer Ken Thomas, Namadgi National Park, ACT

Flowers and leaves. Photographer Don Wood, Deua National Park

Fruit and leaves. Photographer Don Wood, Badja State Forest, north east of Cooma

Common name

Tasman Flax-lily

Family

Hemerocallidaceae

Where found

Forest, woodland, grassy areas and herbfields, rocky areas, and gulllies. Widespread. Rare on the coast and the Western Slopes.

Notes

Perennial herb to more than 1 m high, sometimes spreading extensively by rhizomes. Fruit fleshy, blue. Leaves crowded towards the base of the plant, in two rows on opposite sides of the stem, 20-95 cm long, 10–40 mm wide, the basal part Y-shaped in cross section, the midrib on lower surface keeled, margins often slightly curved down and toothed and rough; Sheath at the base more or less fully closed at the top. Flowers mauve to violet, violet blue, or deep metallic blue, about 10-20 mm in diameter, with 6 'petals' each 7–10 mm long. Inflorescence shorter than or longer than the leaves, the sub-clusters more or less contracted, 2–5-flowered. Anthers yellow. Fruit dark blue to purple or violet, 10–25 mm long. Flowering: spring-summer.

Family Phormiaceae in PlantNET. Family Asphodelaceae in VICFLORA.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Dianella~tasmanica (accessed 26 April 2021)