Botanical art
Prior names
Dichopogon strictus
Common names
Common Chocolate-lily
Common Vanilla-lily
Etymology
Arthropodium from the Greek 'arthron' meaning a joint and 'podion' meaning a little foot, alluding to the jointed pedicels. Strictus from Latin meaning erect or upright, alluding to the species habit.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern part of South Australia from the Gammon Ranges to the lower South-east, with disjunct occurrences in the far north-west corner. Also found in Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Common in South Australia. Uncommon in Northern Territory. Common in all other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Perennial lily with stiff, erect stems to 100 cm high and with long roots ending in fusiform tubers. Leaves to 35cm long and 12mm wide; linear-lanceolate, with old leaf bases fibrous. Inflorescence to 60cm long forming a loose panicle, or reduced to a simple raceme with long leafy bracts at the base of each branch and a lanceolate bract at the base of each pedicel. Flowers scented, solitary, drooping, blue or violet, rarely white; 10-12 mm long with anthers dark-purple, the 2 appendages much shorter, yellow. Fruits are pale-brown ovoid capsule to 8mm long, containing numerous seeds. Seeds are black, sectoroid or pyramidal seed to 2mm long and 2mm wide, with smooth or slightly wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is linear fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and January. Collect mature capsules, those that are turning a pale straw colour and contain black seeds. collect individual capsules or break off the whole spike. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for 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 three collections, the seed viability was high, at 100%.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSB | 1,400 (2.108 g) | 30-40 | 23-Nov-2005 | DJD218 Flinders Ranges | |||
| BGA MSB | 3,000 (12.05 g) 3,000 (12.05 g) | 100 | 5-Feb-2004 | MKJ24B Southern Lofty | 14-Aug-2006 | 100% | -18°C |
| MSB | 7,100 (20.75 g) | 100+ | 4-Dec-2007 | TST261 Southern Lofty | 90% | ||
| BGA | 2,600 (3.67 g) | 100+ | 11-Jan-2007 | PJA151 Southern Lofty | 20-Jul-2009 | 100% | -18°C |
| BGA | 3,400 (14.67 g) | 40+ | 30-Oct-2013 | DJD2700 North Western | 24-Mar-2015 | 100% | -18°C |
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.