Botanical art
Prior names
Caesia vittata
Common names
Blue Grass-lily
Etymology
Caesia named after Federico Cesi (1585-1630), an Italian naturalist who is said to have been the first to discover the spores of ferns and whose name was Latinised as Caesius. Calliantha from the Greek 'callos' meaning beauty and 'anthos' meaning flower.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern part of South Australia from the southern Flinders Ranges to the lower South-east, growing in grassy understorey of sclerophyll forest on damp sandy or clay soil. Also found in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Tufted, glabrous herbaceous perennial lily with long grass-like leaves to 50 cm long and 15 mm wide, sheath often papery. Flowers lilac-blue to deep-blue along a long spike. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are pale brown 3-lobedcapsule to 8 mm in diameter. Seeds are globular black seeds 2 mm in diameter with fine irregular low tubercles. Seed embryo type is linear fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and December. Collect mature capsules, those that are turning a pale straw colour and contain black seeds. Can collect individual capsules or break off the whole spike. 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. Seed viability can be low. High germination rates after 4 weeks cold stratification at 5oC and sown April (pers. comm. Shaun Kennedy - SA Water) - see seedling images on Sosa webpage.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 3,900 (8.08 g) 3,900 (8.08 g) | 100+ | 19-Oct-2005 | DJD148 Murray | 9-Aug-2006 | 65% | -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.