110 LILIACEAE. 11. Arthropodium. 



11. ARTHROPODIUM, R. Br. 



(Greek arthron, a joint ; podion, a little foot : alluding to the jointed pedicels.) 

 Perianth of 6 free segments, not twisted after flowering, 3-nerved along the centre, the 

 inner ones broader, undulate on the edge and sometimes shortly fringed ; stamens 6, the 

 filaments densely bearded with clavate hairs in the upper part ; anthers oblong ; ovary 

 3-celled, with several ovules in each cell ; capsule 3-valved ; seeds black, angular ; leaves 

 basal, grass-like ; flowers in loose racemes on pedicels articulate above the middle. 



Flowers 2-3 in the cluster A. paniculatum 1. 



Flowers usually solitary A. minus 2. 



1. A. paniculatum (Andr.), R. Br. Roots tuberous ; stem erect, usually branched, 

 20-50 cm. high ; flowers white or purplish, 2-3 together on filiform pedicels, with a scarious 

 bract at base ; perianth -segments 6-7 mm. long ; anther as long as the bearded part of 

 the filament and shorter than the whole filament. 



South-East. Oct-Nov. 



2. A. minus, R. Br. A smaller plant, 6-20 cm. high ; flowers smaller and almost 

 always solitary ; the hairy part of the filament continued downwards in 2 short lobes 

 which reach almost to the base of the filament. 



Southern districts as far as Bordertown ; Eyre Peninsula to Fowler's Bay. Oct. -Nov. 



12. DICHOPOGON, Kunth. 



(Greek dikhos, double ; pbgon, a beard : the anthers have 2 beardlike appendages.) 

 Similar to Arthropodium, except that each anther has 2 small papillose appendages 

 at base, the appendages being also slightly attached to the summit of the filament, which 

 is otherwise glabrous. 



Capsules erect D. strictus 1. 



Capsules reflexed D. fimbriatus 2. 



1. D. strictus (R. Br.), J. G. Bak. Stem stiff, 20-60 cm. high, usually branched at 

 base ; flowers purple, scented, almost always solitary, in a long raceme ; pedicels 

 lengthening and spreading-erect under the erect globular capsule ; perianth-segments 

 10-12 mm. long ; anthers dark-purple, with a short yellow appendage hanging from the 

 base of each cell. — Arthropodium strictum, R. Br. 



Southern districts to Flinders Range ; South-East. Sept. -Dec. 



2. D. fimbriatus (R. Br.), comb, no v. Near the preceding, but the flowers are usually 

 in clusters of 2 to 4 ; pedicels and capsules turned downwards. — D. Sieberianus, Kunth ; 

 Arthropodium fimbriatum, R. Br. 



Southern districts. Sept. -Dec. Both these species grew formerly on the park lands 

 of Adelaide, but are almost extinct there now. 



13. BARTLINGIA, F. v. M. 



(After F. G. Bartling, a German botanist (1798-1875). Laxmannia, R. Br. (1810), not 



of Forst. (1776).) 



1. B. sessiliflora (Dene), F. v. M. Small perennial, with wiry slender usually branched 

 stems, 3-8 cm. high ; leaves subulate, 1-3 cm. long, mostly in tufts, with scarious sheaths 

 ciliate or woolly on the margins ; flowers few, sessile in axillary heads, which are sub- 

 sessile or on short recurved peduncles and surrounded by an involucre of scarious bracts, 

 the inner bracts white and woolly at base ; perianth-segments 6, 4 mm. long, the 3 inner 

 white and rather longer than the outer ones ; ovary 3-celled, with 2-4 ovules in each cell ; 

 capsule globular, enclosed in the persistant perianth ; seeds black, granular. — Laxmannia 

 sessiliflora, Dene. 



Southern districts ; South-East. Sept. -Nov. 



14. XANTHORRHOEA, Sm. 



(Greek xanthos, yellow ; rheo, to flow : alluding to the resin (" gum ") that flows from 



the stem.) 



Perianth persistant, of 6 free segments, the 3 outer scarious below, green towards 

 summit, concave, the 3 inner ones white, with short rounded laminae ; stamens 6, usually 

 exserted ; ovary 3-celled, with few ovules in each cell, tapering into an undivided style ; 

 capsule hard, shining, 3-valved, protruding from the spike ; seeds black, flat. Erect 

 perennials, with a thick, woody stem or trunk, conspicuous or not rising above the ground ; 

 leaves long, rigid, brittle, pungent-pointed, in a dense tuft at the top of the stem ; scape 

 or peduncle solitary, erect, simple, bearing a dense cylindrical spike of many flowers, 

 each flower surrounded by numerous bracts and bracteoles. Grass-tree, yacca, blaclcboy. 



A purely Australian genus of slow-growing long-lived plants. The stem, marked on 

 the outside by the bases of the fallen leaves, doubtless lengthens with age, but in some 

 species it is usually wanting, or very short. Bush fires appear to stimulate the subsequent 



