''Dianella'' is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one Embryo#Plant embryos, embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but ...

family

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 ...

, commonly known as flax lilies. Plants in this genus are tufted

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

with more or less linear leaves and

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

flowers with three

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s more or less similar to three petals and a

superior ovary In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule(s) and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the ba ...

, the fruit a

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

. They occur in Africa, South-east Asia, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia. Several species of this genus, or the whole genus, are sometimes referred to by the common name blue flax lily, particularly in Australia.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Dianella'' are tufted

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

herbs with fibrous or fleshy roots, more or less linear leaves with their bases overlapping, bisexual flowers with three sepals more or less similar to three blue, purple or white petals and a superior ovary, and the fruit a berry.

Taxonomy

The name ''Dianella'' was first formally published by

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biologi ...

in 1786 in his ''

Encyclopédie Méthodique The ''Encyclopédie méthodique par ordre des matières'' () was published between 1782 and 1832 by the France, French publisher Charles Joseph Panckoucke, his son-in-law Henri Agasse, and the latter's wife, Thérèse-Charlotte Agasse. Arranged by ...

'', but this did not validly establish the name because Lamarck did not include a description of the new genus.Rodney J.F. Henderson. 1977. Typification of ''Dianella'' Lam. ex Juss. (Liliaceae). ''

Taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

'' 26(1):131-137.

Antoine Laurent de Jussieu Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (; 12 April 1748 – 17 September 1836) was a French botanist, notable as the first to publish a natural classification of flowering plants; much of his system remains in use today. His classification was based on an e ...

made it a

correct name In botany, the correct name according to the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the one and only botanical name that is to be used for a particular taxon, when that taxon has a particular circumscription, p ...

in 1789 when he published a

description Description is any type of communication that aims to make vivid a place, object, person, group, or other physical entity. It is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...

in the first edition of his ''

Genera Plantarum ''Genera Plantarum'' is a publication of Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778). The first edition was issued in Leiden, 1737. The fifth edition served as a complementary volume to ''Species Plantarum'' (1753). Article 13 of the Internat ...

''. The name ''Dianella'' is a reference to the Roman goddess

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

with the suffix ''ella'' meaning "small". The genus ''Dianella'' is closely related to '' Thelionema'' and '' Herpolirion''.Dion S. Devey, Ilia Leitch, Paula J. Rudall, J. Chris Pires, Yohan Pillon, and Mark W. Chase. "Systematics of Xanthorrhoeaceae sensu lato, with an emphasis on ''Bulbine''". ''Aliso'' 22(''Monocots: Comparative Biology and Evolution''):345-351. ISSN 0065-6275.

Distribution and habitat

Plants in the genus ''Dianella'' occur in Africa, South-east Asia, the Pacific Islands including Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia. About half of the species are

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to Australia.Starting out with Natives, John Wriggley & Murray Fagg

Species list

The following is a list of ''Dianella'' species accepted by the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) was an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected p ...

as at October 2020: * '' Dianella acutifolia'' Schlittler - New Caledonia * '' Dianella adenanthera'' (G.Forst.) R.J.F.Hend. - numerous Pacific Islands * '' Dianella amoena'' G.W.Carr & P.F.Horsfall - Tasmania, Victoria * '' Dianella atraxis'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland * '' Dianella bambusifolia'' Hallier f. - Queensland, New Guinea * '' Dianella brevicaulis'' (Ostenf.) G.W.Carr & P.F.Horsfall - southern Australia * '' Dianella brevipedunculata'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland * '' Dianella caerulea'' Sims - New Guinea, eastern Australia ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''aquilonia'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''assera'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' Sims var. ''caerulea'' ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''cinerascans'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''petasmatodes'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''producta'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''protensa'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''vannata'' R.J.F.Hend. * '' Dianella callicarpa'' G.W.Carr & P.F.Horsfall - Victoria * '' Dianella carolinensis'' Lauterb. - Micronesia * '' Dianella congesta'' R.Br. - Queensland, New South Wales * '' Dianella crinoides'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland, New South Wales * '' Dianella daenikeri'' Schlittler - New Caledonia * '' Dianella dentata'' Schlittler - southeastern China * '' Dianella ensifolia'' (L.) DC. (syn. ''D. ensata'') Chimanimani Mountains of southern Africa; Indian Subcontinent, China, Madagascar, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Japan, islands in Indian Ocean * '' Dianella fruticans'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland * '' Dianella haematica'' Heenan & de Lange - North Island of New Zealand * '' Dianella incollata'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland * '' Dianella intermedia'' Endl. - Norfolk Island of Australia * '' Dianella javanica'' (Blume) Kunth - Southeast Asia, Papuasia * '' Dianella latissima'' Heenan & de Lange - North Island of New Zealand * '' Dianella longifolia'' R.Br. - widespread in Australia ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''fragrans'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''grandis'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella longifolia'' R.Br. var. ''longifolia'' ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''stenophylla'' Domin ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''stupata'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''surculosa'' R.J.F.Hend. * '' Dianella monophylla'' Hallier f. - New Guinea * '' Dianella nervosa'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland, New South Wales * '' Dianella nigra'' Colenso - North + South Islands of New Zealand * '' Dianella odorata'' Blume - Maluku, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Queensland, Northern Territory * '' Dianella pavopennacea'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland ** ''Dianella pavopennacea'' var. ''major'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella pavopennacea'' R.J.F.Hend. var. ''pavopennacea'' ** ''Dianella pavopennacea'' var. ''robusta'' R.J.F.Hend. * '' Dianella pendula'' Schlittler - îles Loyauté of New Caledonia * '' Dianella plicata'' Schlittler - New Caledonia * '' Dianella porracea'' (R.J.F.Hend.) Horsfall & G.W.Carr - Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia * ''

Dianella prunina Dianella may refer to: * ''Dianella'' (beetle), a species and genus of beetle in the family Carabidae now known as ''Diamella'' * ''Dianella'' (gastropod), a genus of freshwater snails in the family Hydrobiidae * ''Dianella'' (plant), a genus of ...

'' R.J.F.Hend. - New South Wales * '' Dianella rara'' R.Br. - Queensland * '' Dianella revoluta'' R.Br. - widespread in Australia ** ''Dianella revoluta'' var. ''divaricata'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella revoluta'' var. ''minor'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella revoluta'' (R.Br.) R.J.F.Hend.var. ''revoluta'' ** ''Dianella revoluta'' var. ''tenuis'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella revoluta'' var. ''vinosa'' R.J.F.Hend. * '' Dianella saffordiana'' Fosberg & Sachet - Guam * '' Dianella sandwicensis'' Hook. & Arn. - New Caledonia, Hawaiian Islands, Marquesas * '' Dianella serrulata'' Hallier f. - Queensland, New Guinea * '' Dianella stipitata'' Schlittler - New Caledonia * ''

Dianella tarda Dianella may refer to: * ''Dianella'' (beetle), a species and genus of beetle in the family Carabidae now known as ''Diamella'' * ''Dianella'' (gastropod), a genus of freshwater snails in the family Hydrobiidae * ''Dianella'' (plant), a genus of ...

'' Horsfall & G.W.Carr - New South Wales, Victoria * '' Dianella tasmanica'' Hook.f. - Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales * '' Dianella tenuissima'' G.W.Carr - New South Wales

Uses

Several species of ''Dianella'' are grown for their attractive foliage and shiny, blue to purple berries.

Anthony Huxley Anthony Julian Huxley (2 December 1920 – 26 December 1992) was a British botanist and writer. An elected council member of the Royal Horticultural Society, he became its vice president in 1991. He edited '' Amateur Gardening'' from 1967 to 19 ...

, Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (1992). ''The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening''. The Macmillan Press, Limited: London. The Stockton Press: New York. (set). Reports of the edibility of the fruit range from very poisonous to sweet and nutty (such as ''D. caerulea''), and the beach flax lily (''D. congesta'') is reportedly the best-tasting.Wild food plants of Australia, Tim Low The leaves are used to weave dillies and baskets by Indigenous Australians.

References

External links

Australian plants online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dianella (Plant) Asphodelaceae genera