Xanthorrhoea
Xanthorrhoea quadrangulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae Dumort. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Liliopsida is a Botanical name for the class containing the family Liliaceae (or Lily Family Asparagales is an order of Flowering plants The order must include the family Asparagaceae, but other families included in the order have varied markedly Xanthorrhoeaceae is the Botanical name of a family of Flowering plants. Genus: Xanthorrhoea Sol. ex Sm.
Species
see text

Xanthorrhoea is a genus of flowering plants native to Australia and a member of family Xanthorrhoeaceae. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. In Biological classification, family ( Latin The Xanthorrhoeaceae are monocots, part of order Asparagales. Monocotyledons or monocots are one of two major groups of Flowering plants (angiosperms that are traditionally recognised the other being Dicotyledons Asparagales is an order of Flowering plants The order must include the family Asparagaceae, but other families included in the order have varied markedly There are 28 species and five subspecies of Xanthorrhoea. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. ^[1] All are perennials and have a secondary thickening meristem in the stem. A perennial plant or perennial ( Latin per, "through" annus, "year" is a Plant that lives for more than Many, but not all, species develop an above ground stem. This is rough-surfaced, built from accumulated leaf-bases around the secondarily thickened trunk. The trunk is sometimes unbranched, some species will branch if the growing point is damaged and others naturally grow numerous branches. Flowers are borne on a long spike above a bare section called a scape, the total length can be up to four metres long in some species. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Flowering occurs in a distinct flowering period, which varies for each species. Flowering can be stimulated by bushfire, in which case it occurs in the next flowering period after the fire. Ladysmith-RFSJPG|right|thumb| Ladysmith NSW RFS fire fighting tanker]]A Bushfire is a Fire that occurs in the bush (collective term for

It is commonly believed that the Xanthorrhoea grow at a rate of about an inch (2½ cm) per century. Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. Xanthorrhoea do grow very slowly, but this is a gross underestimate: after an initial establishment phase the average rate of growth varies for each species but can be as high as about 2½ cm per year. Thus a five-metre tall member of one of the fastest growing Xanthorrhoea would be about 200 years old.

Xanthorrhoea may be cultivated, as seed is easily collected and germinated. Whilst they do grow slowly, quite attractive plants with short trunks (10 cm) and leaf crowns up to 1. 5 m (to the top of the leaves) can be achieved in 10 years. The slow growth rate means that it can take 30 years to achieve a specimen with a significant trunk. Most Xanthorrhoea sold in nurseries are established plants taken from bushland. A nursery is a place where Plants are propagated and grown to usable size Nurseries charge high prices for the plants. However, there is a very low survival rate for nursery purchased plants, which may take 3-4 years to die. The most successful examples of transplanting have been where a substantial amount of soil (> 1 cubic metre) has been taken with the plants.

The best known common name for the Xanthorrhoea is blackboy. This name refers to the purported similarity in appearance of the trunked species to an Aboriginal boy holding an upright spear. This is an article about a class of people as identified and defined within Australian law In 2007, some people consider this name to be offensive, or at least belonging to the past, preferring instead grasstree, or in the South West the Noongar name balga for X. This article is about a governmental division for other uses see Southwest Western Australia. The Noongar (alternate spellings Nyungar / Nyoongar / Nyoongah / Nyungah / Nyugah) are an Indigenous Australian people who live preissei. In South Australia it is commonly known as yakka, also spelled yacca and yacka. South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country This probably is from a South Australian Aboriginal language,^[2] mostly likely Kaurna. The Kaurna (pronounced "Garner" people are a group of Indigenous Australians whose traditional lands lie in and around the Adelaide Plains of South

Traditional Aboriginal uses

Xanthorrhoea is important to the Aboriginal people who live where it grows. The flowering spike makes the perfect fishing spear. Spearfisherman redirects here For the former diving gear company see Spearfisherman (company. It is also soaked in water and the nectar from the flowers gives a sweet tasting drink. Australian Aborigines had many ways to source sweet foods The four main types of sweet foods gathered – apart from ripe fruit – were honey from ants and bees ( In the bush the flowers are used as a compass. This is because flowers on the warmer, sunnier side of the spike (usually the north facing side) often open before the flowers on the cooler side facing away from the sun. ^[3]

The resin from Xanthorrhoea plants is used in spear-making^[4] and is an invaluable adhesive for Aboriginal people, often used to patch up leaky coolamons (water-containers) and even yidaki (didgeridoos). This is an article about a particle accelerator For uses of spear, see Spear or Spear (disambiguation.

Species

• Xanthorrhoea acanthostachya
• Xanthorrhoea acaulis
• Xanthorrhoea arborea
• Xanthorrhoea arenaria
• Xanthorrhoea australis
• Xanthorrhoea bracteata
• Xanthorrhoea brevistyla
• Xanthorrhoea brunonis
• Xanthorrhoea caespitosa
• Xanthorrhoea concava
• Xanthorrhoea drummondii
• Xanthorrhoea fulva
• Xanthorrhoea glauca
• Xanthorrhoea gracilis
• Xanthorrhoea johnsonii
• Xanthorrhoea latifolia
• Xanthorrhoea macronema
• Xanthorrhoea malacophylla
• Xanthorrhoea media
• Xanthorrhoea minor
• Xanthorrhoea nana
• Xanthorrhoea platyphylla
• Xanthorrhoea preissii
• Xanthorrhoea pumilio
• Xanthorrhoea quadrangulata
• Xanthorrhoea reflexa
• Xanthorrhoea resinifera (also called Xanthorrhoea hastilis)
• Xanthorrhoea semiplana
• Xanthorrhoea thorntonii

Image gallery

Grass Tree with tall flower spike	Flower spikes on Xanthorrhoea trees	The top of a Xanthorrhoea	A large group of Xanthorrhoea
A group of flowering Xanthorrhoea	Early stages of a flowering Xanthorrhoea stem	Flowering Xanthorrhoea	Old flower stem after seeds have been ejected
Xanthorrhoea growing back after fire	Xanthorrhoea malacophylla at Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens	Xanthorrhoea at Yanchep National Park	Xanthorrhoea semiplana near the top of Anstey Hill Recreation Park, South Australia

See also

• Kingia and Dasypogon are unrelated Australian plants with a similar growth habit to Xanthorrhoea. Xanthorrhoea australis (Austral Grass-tree is the most commonly seen species of the genus Xanthorrhoea growing around Anglesea in Yanchep is a national park in Western Australia ( Australia) 42 km north of Perth. Anstey Hill Recreation Park is a public park approximately northeast of Adelaide, South Australia. Kingia is a Genus of the plant family Dasypogonaceae, consisting of a single species Kingia australis. Both genera have at times been confused with xanthorrhoeas and mis-named as grasstrees. Some plant classification systems such as Cronquist^[5] have included a wide range of other genera in the same family as Xanthorrhoea. However, later anatomical and phylogenetic research has supported the view of Dahlgren^[6] who regarded Xanthorrhoea as the sole member of the family Xanthorrhoeaceae.

References

External links

• Xanthorrhoea australis - R.Br. Plants For A Future
• XANTHORRHOEA INFORMATION PAGE Monica Pawlan
• Xanthorrhoea. FloraBase. FloraBase is a public access web-based database of the Flora of Western Australia. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia. The Department of Environment and Conservation is a department of the Government of Western Australia that is responsible for implementing the state's conservation and environment
• Xanthorrhoea, Australian Plant Name Index (APNI)