Patersonia rudis

Patersonia rudis is a tufted perennial herb that typically grows to a height of 40 cm (16 in) and forms a rhizome covered by sticky leaf bases. Its leaves are linear to sword-shaped and 200–700 mm (7.9–27.6 in) long, striated and softly-hairy near the base. The flowering scape is 200–500 mm (7.9–19.7 in) long and velvety with the sheath enclosing the flowers lance-shaped, blackish, prominently veined and 30–63 mm (1.2–2.5 in) long. The outer tepals are violet, egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 25–35 mm (0.98–1.38 in) long and 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) wide, the hypanthium tube 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) long and softly-hairy. Flowering occurs from October to December and the fruit is an oval capsule 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) long, containing black seeds.[2][3]

Patersonia rudis was first described in 1846 by Stephan Endlicher in Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae.[4][5] The specific epithet (rudis) means "rough" or "wild".[6]

In 1986, David Alan Cooke and Alex George described two subspecies in the Flora of Australia and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

• Petersonia rudis Endl. subsp. rudis[7] has leaves more than 300 mm (12 in) long and 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) wide, and a flowering sheath that often becomes more or less glabrous as it ages;[8][9]
• Petersonia rudis subsp. velutina D.A.Cooke[10] has shorter, narrower leaves than the autonym and the sheath is never glabrous.[11][12]

Subspecies rudis grows in woodland and forest on the Darling Range between New Norcia and Dwellingup in the Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia but subspecies velutina grows in more arid woodland and shrubland further east near Southern Cross and Coolgardie in the Avon Wheatbelt and Coolgardie bioregions.[8][9][11][12]

Both subspecies of P. rudis are classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[9][12]