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Telopea Vol. 6(4): 1996 
Type: South-western Western Australia, S.W. Botanical Province between Geraldton 
(28°46'S 114°37’E) and Mullewa (28°32'S 115°30'E), Pate & Meney KM9402, 19 April 1994, 
(holotype KPBG; isotype PERTH). Growing in open heathland on red sandy loam. 
Habit: Plants dioecious, densely tufted to 30 cm, with conspicuous, short basal flowering 
culms and interwoven canopy of longer tightly coiled vegetative culms. Rhizome 
1- 2 mm diameter, ascending, red-brown with 5 mm long white hairs; scale leaves 
broadly truncate, chocolate-brown with a smooth outer layer and a straw-coloured 
inner layer, ribbed on inner surface, 10 mm long, non-deciduous; cataphylls similar to 
scale leaves but up to 1.3 mm long with an inner tuft of long hairs, non-deciduous, 
chocolate-brown. Culms terete, hollow at base, 0.3-0.5 mm diameter; tall culms most y 
sterile, coiled, unbranched, light-green, 20-30 cm long, lower two internodes densely 
tomentose, upper intemodes finely marbled; reproductive culms 2-5 an long in females, 
5-6 cm long in males, tower portions including female spikelets often partly covered 
by sand; nodes on vegetative culms 6-11, more or less equidistant 3-5 cm apart, culm 
sheaths lanceolate, flared, brown at base, straw-coloured at apex, 6-10 mm long with 
a short lamina, sheaths quickly deciduous on upper parts of culm, usually persistent 
on lower part, purple ring at nodes remaining after abscission of sheaths. Male sptkelets 
sessile or shortly pedicellate 2-A per reproductive culm, axillary on upper 2 cm, 
subglobose 10-15 mm long, 5-7 mm wide, subtended by a straw-coloured, elongate 
bract, 0.4-0.6 mm, bearing a prominent lamina 1.5 mm long; glumes truncate, 6 mm 
long with a soft bristle-like mucro 1-2 mm long. Male flowers sessile, up to 20 per 
spikelet; tepals 4, 2.5 mm long, linear-lanceolate; stamens 3, exserted. Female spikelets 
sessile or shortly pedicellate, 2-4 per culm, more or less equally spaced, broadly elongate, 
10-15 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, subtending bract similar to that of males; glumes 
chocolate-brown with distinctive upper green portion and apical tuft of inconspicuous 
white hairs, lower glumes sterile; mucro rigid, spiny, 2-4 mm long, purple-brown. 
Female floiuers sessile, 2-4 per spikelet; tepals 4, linear-lanceolate, straw-coloured, 
2- 5 mm long; style unbranched, red, up to 9 mm long. Fruit a unilocular nut. 
Flowering: Autumn (April-May). Seed-shed: September-October. Seedlings, not seen. 
Affinities: L. basiflorus is morphologically similar to L. chaetocephalus and L. preissianus 
which both co-occur at its one known locality. Distinguished from L. preissianus by 
erect rather than creeping rhizomes, and from L. chaetocephalus by smaller elongate 
male spikelets. The basal flowering culms and taller vegetative culms are unique. 
Ecological features: Only known from one population in open heath on sand and 
sandy loam soils between Geraldton and Mullewa. Starch is present in both rhizome 
and culms but fire response is unknown. 
Conservation status: Probably very restricted. The only known population is 
unreserved with less than 100 plants. Further survey and immediate classification as 
a high conservation priority species is urgently required. 
Etymology: The specific epithet is from the Latin basis, base and florus, flowered and 
refers to the unusual basal flowering habit. 
Lepidobolus spiralis K. A. Meney & K. W. Dixon, sp. nov. 
Planta dioica rhizomatibus breviter reptantibus, culmis dense fasciculatis, eramosis, 
sinuosis ad subspiraliter curvatis, vaginis truncatis, nitidis, caducis, spiculis sessilibus, 
singulis, caducis. Spiculae foemineae glumis prominenter refracte spinescentibus. 
Type: South-western Western Australia. Frank Hann National Park, East of Lake 
King (33°05’S 119°40'E), Meney & Dixon KM293, 2 November 1990, (holotype KPBG; 
isotype PERTH). Growing in heathland on deep yellow sands. 
