''Calectasia cyanea'', commonly known as the star of Bethlehem or blue tinsel lily, is a plant in the family

Dasypogonaceae Dasypogonaceae is a family of flowering plants, one that has not been commonly recognized by taxonomists; the plants it contains were usually included in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae. If valid, Dasypogonaceae includes four genera with 16 species. ...

growing as a perennial herb and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the south–west of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. Restricted to a single population in

Torndirrup National Park Torndirrup National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth and via Frenchman Bay Road is south of Albany. Torndirrup National Park has many impressive rock formations on the coast. These ...

, it is critically endangered.

Description

''Calectasia cyanea'' is a clump forming woody

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

growing to a height of about and a width of . Unlike some other members of the genus (such as '' C. grandiflora'') this species lacks a rhizome, the stems have only a few short side branches and the leaves are long and wide. The six petals are dark blue, fading to white with age and the central anthers are yellow, turning orange-red with age. Flowers appear from June to October. In 1840,

Robert Marnock Robert Marnock (1800–1889) was one of the outstanding English horticulturalists and garden designers of the 19th century. He was considered by his contemporaries to be the best exponent of the Gardenesque school of landscape gardening. Life Be ...

described this species as:

Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of the floral productions of the South-Western Coast of Australia. Sir William Hooker says, 'We figure it on account of its great beauty, a beauty which is scarcely altered by drying, for the form and colour of both leaves and flowers is truly of that kind called everlasting; and partly with the hope that our cultivators may be induced to import this lovely plant as an ornament to our greenhouses. Nothing can exceed the richness of the bright purple perianths and the contrasting deep orange-coloured anthers. It grows in sandy soil among shrubs.

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

also remarked on the beauty of this species: "In the first place there is that most beautiful plant ''Calectasia cyanea'', R.Br., a bush like an ''

Adansonia ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropi ...

'', with quantities of large blue flowers with deep orange-coloured anthers; this is the handsomest Endogen in the Colony."

Taxonomy and naming

''Calectasia cyanea'' is one of eleven species in the genus '' Calectasia''. It was first described by Robert Brown in ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Nova ...

'' in 1810. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''cyanea'') is from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

''κύανος (kyanós)'' meaning "dark blue" referring to the flower colour.H. G. Liddell and R. Scott (9/e 1940) ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', p. 1003. Oxford University Press. Common names include blue tinsel lily and star of Bethlehem.

Distribution and habitat

The Star of Bethlehem has a very restricted distribution in the

and Albany regions of the

South West Botanical Province Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...

. Old records show it as being common in the region of

King George Sound King George Sound ( nys , Menang Koort) is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use ...

but much of this area is now urbanised as the city of Albany or devoted to agriculture. It grows in yellow sand over laterite. The total population was estimated at around 70 plants in 2005 in an area around 0.02 square kilometres.

Conservation status

''Calectasia cyanea'' is classified as ''Critically endangered'' by the Department of the Environment and Water Resources and the Department of the Environment, Canberra. It is vulnerable to, and threatened by, dieback (''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called " root rot", "dieback", or (in certain ''Castanea'' species), "ink disease". The plant pathogen is one of the w ...

'') and grazing by the

western grey kangaroo The western grey kangaroo (''Macropus fuliginosus''), also referred to as a western grey giant kangaroo, black-faced kangaroo, mallee kangaroo, sooty kangaroo and (when referring to the Kangaroo Island subspecies) Kangaroo Island grey kangaroo, is ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15545995 cyanea Endemic flora of Western Australia Commelinids of Australia Plants described in 1810 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)