''Caesia calliantha'', commonly known as the blue grass lily or blue star lily, is a species of herbaceous flowering plant. It is a member of the

Asphodelaceae Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 4 ...

family, subfamily

Hemerocallidoideae Hemerocallidoideae is a subfamily of flowering plants, part of the Family (biology), family Asphodelaceae ''sensu lato'' in the monocot Order (biology), order Asparagales according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, APG system of APG IV system, ...

, native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

found predominantly along the East coast in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Description

''Caesia calliantha'' is a tufted, perennial plant from the family

. It has fibrous roots with broad spindle and

tubers Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reprod ...

. The leaves grow in tufts at the base of the plant, appearing crowded and grass-like. The leaves are long and narrow, growing up to long and between wide. The inflorescence of ''C. calliantha'' comes from a tall erect stem, growing up to long, and emerged from the center of the

basal leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

. At the top of the stem the flowers are arranged in a

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

, with the youngest flowers at the top. The flowers are in clusters of 1-3 and are a striking lilac blue to deep blue-purple colour. The flowers form a star-like shape made up of 6 petals between long, after flowering the petals become spirally twisted. The

anthers The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

of the flower are held up by 6 narrow tube stalks of same length. The fruit of ''C. calliantha'' are capsules. The capsules are small and rounded, between in diameter, and contain several seeds. The capsules start off yellow-green and once mature turn a brown colour, splitting along the seams to release the seeds.

Habitat and distribution

''Caesia calliantha'' is commonly found in

and

. ''C. calliantha'' is primarily found in grassy woodland vegetation types, in

this can be seen as its distributed across the midlands. It also has an ability to thrive in an array of ecological settings including heathlands and open forests, growing from sea level to sub-alpine altitudes. The ''C. calliantha'' typically prefers moist soils and will grow in full sun to semi-shaded areas.

Differentiation

''Caesia calliantha''can be distinguished relatively easily from similar species. '' Caesia parvifolia'' is the most visually similar to ''C. calliantha'', both with the same habitats, grass-like structures and star shaped blue flowers. The flowers on ''C. calliantha'' are larger, with ''C. parvifolia'' flowers being approximately .

Threats and conservation

''C. calliantha'' has not been assessed at a national level in

, but in the state of

has been identified as a rare species under the threatened

Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 The ''Threatened Species Protection Act 1995'' (TSP Act), is an act of the Parliament of Tasmania that provides the statute relating to conservation of flora and fauna. Its long title is An Act to provide for the protection and management of ...

History

Rodney John Francis Henderson first documented ''Caesia calliantha'' in 1987 in ''Flora of Australia'', but ''C. calliantha'' had been incorrectly documented under ''Caesia vittata'' as early as 1810 by Robert Brown. The original founders of the ''C. calliantha'' was likely Aboriginal Australians as they made use of many plants with

as a food source. ''C. calliantha'' has been reclassified over several decades to eventually be homed in the

family, subfamily

. From 2003 to 2017, under several

APG APG may refer to: * Aberdeen Proving Ground, a United States Army installation in Aberdeen, Maryland **Phillips Army Airfield (IATA code), the airfield of the above * Aboriginal Provisional Government, Indigenous Australian independence movement * ...

systems, ''C. calliantha'' went from being in family Xanthorrhoeaeceae to

to finally being classified as part of the

family after a reclassification of

as a subfamily in 2017 as part of the

APG IV The APG IV system of flowering plant classification is the fourth version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy for flowering plants (angiosperms) being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). It was published ...

system.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15598012 Hemerocallidoideae Endemic flora of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1987