Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Wahlenbergia stricta

Flowering stems (subsp. stricta). Photographer Don Wood, north of Bega

Flowering stems (subsp. stricta). Photographer Don Wood, Namadgi National Park, ACT

Basal leaves (subsp. stricta). Photographer Richard Hartland, Heathcote area, Vic

Line drawings (subsp. stricta). e. flowering plant; flower; seed case. E Mayfield, National Herbarium of Victoria, © 2021 Royal Botanic Gardens Board

Common name

Australian bluebell, Tall bluebell, Austral bluebell

Family

Campanulaceae

Where found

Forest, woodland, shrubland, grassy areas, roadsides, and disturbed sites. Widesprad.

subsp. alterna:  Woodland, shrubland, and along roadsides. Western Slopes. One record from SE of Yass.

subsp. stricta:  Forest, woodland, grassy areas, and disturbed sites. Widespread.

Notes

Perennial herb to 0.90 m tall. Lower stems usually hairy or bristly, upper stems often hairless. Leaves mostly opposite each other, the lowermost leaves occasionally in whorls of 3, upper leaves often alternating up the stems. Leaves 0.5-7 cm long, 1-13 mm wide, more or less rough especially on the midrib of the lower surface and the margins, margins usually wavy or scalloped, and usually with small hardened teeth, tips mostly pointed. Flowers blue, pink, or white inside, often pale or white, rarely yellowish, outside, narrow bell-shaped, the tube 4–11 mm long, with 5 (occasionally 4 or 6) lobes each 6-20 mm long. Free lobes of the flowers one to one and a half times as long as the tube. Stigma usually with 3 lobes. Sepals 3-16 mm long. Flowers in clusters. Seed cases oval to globular. Flowers all year.

subsp. alterna:  Leaves mostly alternating up the stems (only the lowermost opposite each other, or rarely whorled), 1–6 mm wide. Flowers usually blue inside, white outside; style usually protruding above the flower tube.

subsp. stricta:  Leaves mostly opposite each other (only the uppermost alternating up the stems), 1–13 mm wide. Flowers usually blue throughout, the style seldom protruding above the flower tube.

Hybrids between Wahlenbergia gloriosa and Wahlenbergia stricta subsp. stricta have been recorded.

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

PlantNET description and key to subspecies:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Wahlenbergia~stricta (accessed 8 February, 2021)