Plants of
South Australia
Lomandra effusa
Asparagaceae
Scented Iron-grass,
Scented Mat-rush
Display all 11 images
Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
Enlarge Map
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 6

Prior names

Xerotes effusa

Common names

Scented Iron-grass

Scented Mat-rush

Etymology

Lomandra, from the Greek 'loma', meaning edge, border or fringe and 'andros', meaning a male, alluding to the circular margin of the anthers in some species. Effusa from Latin for loosely spreading, alluding to the species' habit.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern part of South Australia, except in the lower South-east, growing on sandy to clay loam in grassland or open woodland . A dominant species in the EPBC listed Peppermint Box grassy woodland and Iron Grass natural temperate grassland. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Nullarbor, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Dioecious perennial, rigid iron grass with leaves to 80 cm long with U shaped 2 toothed tip. Flowers scented, white to pale pink, scattered along the branches of a slender spreading spike. Flowering between May and October. Fruits are brown ovoid capsule to 9 mm long, with valves striated lengthwise. Seeds are brown, rounded wedge-shaped seed to 8 mm long and 4 mm wide. Seed embryo type is linear, underdeveloped.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and December. Collect mature fruits, turning brown with a hard seed inside, or when they are starting to split. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently by hand to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%. This species has morpho-physiological dormancy and will germinate slowly over weeks to months.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

2,400 (41.38 g)
40-5019-Nov-2005MKJ150
Murray
BGA3,300 (69.84 g)21-Nov-2014JRG82
Murray
1-Nov-2017 -18°C
BGA7,600 (152.18 g)1-Nov-2014EBSKAN
Murray
1-May-2019 -18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.
Germination table:
  Display