Xanthorrhoea drummondii

Xanthorrhoea drummondii, commonly known as blackboy,[1] grasstree[2] or Drummond's balga,[3] is a species of grasstree of the genus Xanthorrhoea native to Western Australia.[4]

Xanthorrhoea drummondii
Xanthorrhoea drummondii in Avon Valley National Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Xanthorrhoeoideae
Genus: Xanthorrhoea
Species:
X. drummondii
Binomial name
Xanthorrhoea drummondii

Description

The perennial grass tree can grow to a height of 4.5 metres (15 ft) with the trunk reaching 2 metres (7 ft), scape of 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) and the flower spike to 1.8 metres (6 ft). It blooms between September and November producing yellow-white flowers.[4]

The stem is usually simple with a single crown. Young leaves in form a stiffly erect tuft with older leaves often strongly reflexed forming a skirt around the stem. The glaucous grey-green leaves are quadrate-rhombic in cross-section and about 1.8 to 2.5 millimetres (0.07 to 0.10 in) wide and 1.3 to 2.3 millimetres (0.05 to 0.09 in) thick.[5]

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist William Henry Harvey in 1855 as part of Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany.[6]

Distribution

The species is found in the Perth hills and in coastal areas of the Mid West, Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions of Western Australia where it grows in sandy soils over laterite.[4]

Cultivation

X. drummondii is cultivated in gardens and is easily grown from seed. It prefers a light well-drained soil in full sun. It is both drought tolerant and frost resistant.[1]

References
  1. "Xanthorrhoea drummondii". Australian Seeds. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  2. "Xanthorrhoea drummondii - Grasstree". Nindethana. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  3. "Species lists based on plot records" (PDF). Bushland Perth. 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  4. "Xanthorrhoea drummondii Harv". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  5. "Xanthorrhoea drummondii Harv., Hooker's J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 7: 57 (1855)". Flora of Australia Online. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  6. "Xanthorrhoea drummondii Harv". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
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