Flowering stems. Photographer Don Wood, near Nerriga

Flowers and fruiting bodies. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, ACT

Flowers. Photo: Russell Best, north of Sunbury, Vic

Flowers. Photo: Don Wood, near Albury, NSW

Leaves and stems. Photo: Arthur Chapman, near Bacchus Marsh, Vic

Common Name

A Bluebell

Family

Campanulaceae

Notes

Perennial forb to 80cm tall. Leaves opposite each other near the base, alternating up the stems higher up. Leaves 0.4-6cm long, 1-4mm wide, linear, hairless to sparsely hairy, margins flat, entire or with small teeth, and with pointed tips. Flowers blue, sometimes pink or white inside, white to yellowish brown outside, bell-shaped, with 5 or sometimes 6 lobes, in open groups at the tops of the stems.

Differs from all the other species of Wahlenbergia in this key in that the outside of the flower is often yellowish brown. Differs from Wahlenbergia communis, Wahlenbergia gracilis, Wahlenbergia queenslandica, and Wahlenbergia tumidifructa in that the lower leaves are opposite each other, from Wahlenbergia fluminalis and Wahlenbergia stricta ssp. alterna in that the free lobes of the flower are 2-3 times as long as the tube, from Wahlenbergia gracilenta in that the free lobes of the flower are 6-19mm long, from Wahlenbergia graniticola in that the lower leaves are linear, and from Wahlenbergia littoricola in that the fruiting body is at least 3 times as long as broad.

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

Line drawings of flowers and fruiting bodies of seven species of Wahlenbergia (Wahlenbergia littoricola as Wahlenbergia litticola ) in this key (but not Wahlenbergia graniticola, Wahlenbergia luteola, or Wahlenbergia stricta ssp. alterna) in Flora of South Australia 4th edition, Handbooks Committee on behalf of the South Australian Government (1986), Volume 3, page 1382