Flowering plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, near Fowlers Bay, SA

Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, near Fowlers Bay, SA

Common Name

Pale Mat-rush

Family

Asparagaceae

Notes

Perennial grass-like forb to 30cm tall.  Leaves basal, with a sheath at the base, 10-30cm long, to 2mm wide, flat to almost cylindrical, more or less glaucous, with a long pointed tip, at first with 2 or 3 minute points.  Male and female flowers on different plants.  Flowers small (less than 3mm across) with 6 yellow 'petals'.  Male flowers in clusters of 3-7 in a spike or few branched panicle on flowering stems arising from the base of the plant, female flowers in a single cluster at the base of the plant.  Family Lomandraceae in NSW.  Family Liliaceae in SA.

Differs from Lomandra glauca in that the tips of the leaves are drawn out into a long point, and the margins of the leaf sheaths are gradually narrowed at the top.

Description and photo (as Lomandra glauca ssp. collina) in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales pages 187-188

PlantNET description:   http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Lomandra~collina