NATIVE FLOWERS OF VICTORIA. 89 
CHAPTER XII. 
Iris and Lily. 
W HEN we think of aU the wonderful and beauti- 
ful forms of these two classes of plants, those 
admirable plants that adorn our gardens — the 
Japanese and German Iris, the Christmas and Tiger 
Lilies — we are somewhat surprised that, in the flora 
of Australia, there are no species in these genera so 
large and so striking as those with which we are 
familiar. And this is aU the more vmusual, seeing 
that these plants grow in a wide climatic range, 
including both tropical and temperate, and in Aus- 
tralia we have these climates extensively. 
In Victoria, most of the plants of these families 
are small and diffuse, only a few growing to any size. 
Our largest and most striking liliaceous plant is the 
grass-tree or Xanthorrhoea. In the younger stages 
the foliage extends directly from the soil, like a long 
vigorous tuft of harsh grass, assuming a butt or stem 
with age. Sometimes the stem branches into two or 
more growths. The small white flowers are produced 
along a very tall spike, sometimes six or more feet in 
height, and the bushes, or “ trees,” always flower 
vigorously after a bush-fire. An interesting occur- 
rence may be noticed in connection with the flowering 
of the grass-tree spike. It is almost invariable that 
the flowers on the north side of the spike are the first 
to open. Thus it is possible, from observing the 
flowering spikes, to determine the points of the 
