Plants of
South Australia
Dianella longifolia var. grandis
Asphodelaceae
Yellow-anther Flax-lily,
Pale Flax-lily
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
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Extinct
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 12

Prior names

Dianella laevis, partly

Common names

Yellow-anther Flax-lily

Pale Flax-lily

Etymology

Dianella is a diminutive of Diana, the virginal Roman goddess of hunting and the moon. The first-named species was found located in the French woods, thus the hunting association. Longifolia from Latin meaning long leaves. Grandis from Latin meaning large, tall or lofty, alluding to the large flower-spike.

Distribution and status

The taxonomy of the Dianella longifolia group is under revision and the distribution will change. It was previously recorded from the southern Flinders Ranges, Mount Lofty Ranges and the South-east in South Australia, growing in grassy woodland and was also recorded from Queensland, New South wales and Victoria. The taxonomy of the Dianella longifolia group is under revision and the status will change. It was previously considered rare in South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales and Uncommon in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Murray, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

The taxonomy of the Dianella longifolia group is under revision and the description will change. It was previously described as a perennial herb to 1 m high. Leaves mostly basal, pale blue-green, forming loose clumps to 60 cm high; flower-spike a panicle with pale blue flowers and much longer than the foliage. Anthers yellow.Flowering between September and January. Fruits are round deep-blue to purple berries containing numerous seeds. Seeds are shiny black ovoid seeds to 4 mm long and 3 mm wide. Seed embryo type is linear fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and March. Pick the fruits that are soft and purple. These will have hard black seeds inside. It is best to clean the fruit when it is fresh. Place fruits in a bucket of water and rub the fruit gently by hand to dislodge the seeds. Then use a sieve to separate 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 is variable and can be average to high. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA560 (4.21 g)3031-Mar-2005DJD123
Southern Lofty
28-Mar-2006100%-18°C
 
MSB

2,200 (11.46 g)
100+3-Jan-2008TST318
Southern Lofty
55%
BGA2,400 (20.15 g)20+3-Jan-2008TST310
Southern Lofty
1-Jun-201070%+5°C, -18°C
BGA120 (9.23 g)17-Mar-2010Mt Crawford
Southern Lofty
1-Jun-2010100%-18°C
BGA20917-Feb-2010Montacute CP
Southern Lofty
1-Jun-2010100%-18°C
BGA1,080 (7.5 g)20+24-Jan-2011DJD2119
Murray
1-Jan-201270%-18°C
BGA900 (6.930 g)1-Jan-2022Kuitpo Forest
Southern Lofty
7-Jul-202298%-18°C
BGA4,800 (33.164 g)30+20-Jan-2022BKB53
Southern Lofty
20-Jun-202390%-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:
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