| The only
species of Xanthorrhoeaceae in Tasmania are
three native species of Xanthorrhoea (grass trees).
These all grow in dry forests and heaths and have very long (up to ~
1m long), tough, narrow (~1-2mm) leaves in a dense tuft, overtopped
by woody spike several cm thick and up to 3m tall. In one species
(X. australis) the tuft of leaves is borne on a massive trunk
(sometime branched) covered in leaf bases, this trunk can be up to
3m tall.
Lomandra was previously placed
in the same family as Xanthorrhoea. Xanthorrhoeaceae was once considered to be part of Liliaceae, which was
a very artificial grouping of plants and has therefore been
splintered in numerous families. To see the fates of the other
Tasmanian genera formerly in Liliaceae click
here. |
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