Dianella revoluta
Blueberry Lily
Blueberry Lily
Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Monocots > Asparagales > Asphodelaceae > Dianella revoluta
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Overview:
Dianella revoluta, commonly known as blueberry lily, blue flax-lily, or black-anther flax-lily,, a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae and is endemic to, and widespread in Australia
It is a tufted, perennial herb with grass-like leaves and up to nine blue or violet flowers with six tepals, and stamens with bright yellow filaments and pale brown to almost black anthers
Common name: Blueberry Lily
Conservation status: ...
Etymology:
Flowers
The flowers are blue to violet and are arranged in groups of two to nine, each flower 10–20 mm wide on a pedicel 5–35 mm long
The three sepals are 5.5–10 mm long with five to seven veins and the petals 5.2–9.5 mm long with five veins
The stamen filaments are 0.6–2.3 mm long and bright yellow, the anthers 2.5–4.5 mm long and pale brown to almost black
Flowering mainly occurs from spring to early summer
Fruit:
A blue to purple berry, 4–10 mm long
Leaves:
The leaves are folded lengthwise and grass-like, 15–85 cm long and 3–23 mm wide
Stem & branches:
Roots:
Habit:
A tufted, perennial herb with stems less than 15 cm long and touching or up to 30 cm apart
Habitat:
A wide range of habitats apart from very wet and very dry habitats
Distribution:
It is common and widespread in all Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory but not the Northern Territory
Additional notes: Taxonomy
Taxonomy
Dianella revoluta was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen
Five varieties of D. revoluta are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
Dianella revoluta var. divaricata (R.Br.) R.J.F.Henderson
Dianella revoluta var. minor R.J.F.Henderson
Dianella revoluta R.Br. var. revoluta R.J.F.Henderson
Dianella revoluta var. tenuis R.J.F.Henderson
Dianella revoluta var. vinosa R.J.F.Henderson
Uses
The berry of D. revoluta is reported to be edible
Dianella, Western Australia was named after this plant, which was plentiful in the area prior to the 1960s residential development
Sources of information: