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Xanthorrhoea macronema F.Muell. ex Benth.
Family Asphodelaceae
Xanthorrhoea macronema F.Muell. ex Benth. APNI*

Description: Trunk absent; stem sometimes branched below ground; crowns 1-many, in a loosely upright or deflexed tuft.

Leaves obtrullate, irregularly rounded depressed-cuneate or concave in T.S., usually 2.3–3.5 mm wide, 1.2–1.8 mm thick, light to dark green, not glaucous.

Scape 1–1.6 m long, 4–5 mm diam.; spike less than a tenth as long as scape, 5–13 cm long, 1.4–2 cm diam.; cluster bracts obscure; packing bracts shortly acute to acute, glabrous. Outer tepals acute, beaked, without proboscis, glabrous. Inner tepals prominent, erect, with proboscis, glabrous except for very few hairs at apex.


Habitat
Photo T.M. Tame

Flower
Photo T.M. Tame

Flowering: July–January

Distribution and occurrence: Grows in sclerophyll forest on coastal sands and ranges; north from the Sydney region.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC
Other Australian states: Qld
AVH map***

Distinctive in its habit, with long thin scape and short brush-like spike, large cream to yellow flowers with inner tepals much larger than other species, long-pointed fruit with persistent styles and rounded glossy seed. Leaves longer (1–2 m) than in most species, with stomates in subsurface hair-lined chambers rather than singly as all other N.S.W. species.

Text by D. J. Bedford
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 4 (1993)


APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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