Flowers and leaf bases. Photo: Linda Venz, NW of Brisbane, Qld

Female flowers. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Plant. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Male plant. Photo: Don Wood, Carnarvon Station Bush Heritage Reserve, via Augathella, Qld

Common Name

Woolly-head Mat-rush, Irongrass, Woolly Mat-rush

Family

Asparagaceae

Notes

Grass like perennial forb to 40cm tall.  Leaves basal, with a sheath at the base, 20-60cm long, 1-2mm wide, narrow and flat, with white hairs near the base and along the edges.  Male and female flowers on different plants.  Fragrant flowers.  Flowers white to cream, with 6 ‘petals’ (only 3 obvious).  Flower heads spherical, oval, or cylindrical (female only), along and/or at the top of flowering stems arising from the base of the plant. Family Lomandraceae in NSW, Liliaceae in SA.

It differs from  Lomandra leucocephala ssp. robusta in that the leaves are usually 1-2mm wide; the leaf sheaths are white; and the male flower groups are in one to three clusters. 

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 188

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