Xanthorrhoea thorntonii, commonly known as Cundeelee grasstree, Cundeelee blackboy,[1] desert grasstree,[2] yacka[3] or grasstree, is a species of grasstree of the genus Xanthorrhoea native to central Australia.[4] It is known to the Pitjantjatjara people as kata-kultu, kata-puru, ulpa or urara, the Warlpiri people as yurlurnkuru and the Arrernte as lunkere. X. thorntonii is the only grass tree found in Central Australia including the Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert and MacDonnell Ranges.[3]
| Xanthorrhoea thorntonii | |
|---|---|
| |
| Grasstrees on a roadside | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Xanthorrhoeoideae |
| Genus: | Xanthorrhoea |
| Species: | X. thorntonii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Xanthorrhoea thorntonii | |
Description edit
The perennial grass tree typically grows to a height of 5 metres (16 ft) with the trunk reaching 5 metres (16 ft), scape of 0.6 to 0.8 m (2.0 to 2.6 ft) and the flower spike to 1 to 1.5 m (3 to 5 ft). It blooms between August and December producing cream-white flowers.[4] It has numerous long linear entire leaves radiating from the apex of one or more stout trunks. The white flowers are densely packed into long-stalked robust spikes.[3] The plant is slow growing, long lived and fire-resistant with a crown of strongly reflexed leaves that are quadrate-rhomboid in cross section. It produces an acaroid resin that was used by Indigenous Australians to fix spear heads to shafts.[5]
Taxonomy edit
The species was first formally described by the botanist Ralph Tate in 1896 in the W.B. Spencer work Botany. Report on the work of the Horn Scientific Expedition to Central Australia from samples collected during the Horn Expedition in 1894. The only synonym of the species is Xanthorrhoea thorntoni which was also described by Tate.[6]
Distribution edit
It has a scattered distribution in the arid central parts of Western Australia in the Pilbara, Mid West and Goldfields-Esperance regions where it grows in sandy soils.[4] It is also commonly found in the north west of South Australia[2] and the south of the Northern Territory to the south west of Alice Springs.[3] Found on and between sand dunes and on sandy plains as part of Triodia dominated ecosystems.[3]
References edit
- ^ "Xanthorrhoea species - Grass Tree". Windmill Outback Nursery. 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Xanthorrhoea thorntonii (Liliaceae) Desert Grass-tree". Seeds of South Australia. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Xanthorrhoea thorntonii Tate". NT Flora. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ a b c "Xanthorrhoea thorntonii". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ Gerald E. Wickens (2013). Ecophysiology of Economic Plants in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783662037003.
- ^ "Xanthorrhoea thorntonii Tate". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 6 June 2017.