''Dianella caerulea'', commonly known as the blue flax-lily, blueberry lily, or paroo lily, is a

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 ...

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

, 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, ...

, found across the eastern states of

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 ...

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 ...

. It is a hardy plant, growing to a height and width of around 1 metre with grass-like strappy leaves. Blue flowers in spring and summer are followed by indigo-coloured berries. It adapts readily to cultivation and is commonly seen in Australian gardens and amenities plantings.

Taxonomy

It was first described by English taxonomist John Sims in

Curtis's Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...

in 1802. Its specific name is the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

adjective ''caerulea'' "blue". The genus name is derived from 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 a diminutive suffix -''ella''. ''Dianella caerulea'' is highly variable species, with many forms found throughout eastern Australia. Six varieties are known from the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

district alone. The species is described as having seven varieties, having been revised by

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

botanist Rod Henderson in 1987 for the ''

Flora of Australia The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 21,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, ...

'': *''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''assera'' grows as a taller solitary tufted plant to 1.8 m high, and is found from

Nowra Nowra () is a city in the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated po ...

north along the

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 ...

coast and Blue Mountains into Queensland. *''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''caerulea'' *''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''cinerascens'' is a pale-grey leaved form to 0.8 m inland and north of the

Sydney Basin The Sydney Basin is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion and is both a structural entity and a depositional area, now preserved on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia and with some of its ...

, from

Putty PuTTY () is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application. It supports several network protocols, including SCP, SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connection. It can also connect to a se ...

northwest to

Wollar Wollar is a village in New South Wales, Australia. The town is located north west of the state capital Sydney and north-east of the regional centre of Mudgee, near the Goulburn River National Park. At the , Wollar and the surrounding region had ...

. *''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''petasmatodes'' is a more mat-forming variant, which reaches 2 m in diameter and 1.3 m high. It is found on the far north coast of New South Wales into Queensland. *''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''producta'' is a taller variety to 1.3 m found from Nowra and Blackheath north through New South Wales and into Queensland. It has a greenish white to blue

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...

. *''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''protensa'' is a smaller variant up to 0.5 m high, which grows as a solitary tuft. It is found from Nowra northwards through New South Wales into Queensland. It is found in

sclerophyll forest Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

y soils. *''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''vannata'' is a taller variant to 1.3 m recorded from the Blue Mountains, the far north coast of New South Wales and Queensland.

Description

''Dianella caerulea'' is a strappy herbaceous fruit bearing plant to about 1 metre (3 ft) high, with a thick spreading rhizome under the ground. The bright green leaves have straight or toothed margins, and may reach 75 cm (30 in) in length and 0.3-2.5 cm wide. The small (1-1.6 cm diameter) flowers bloom in spring and summer (August to January); the

is pale to a dark blue, or green-blue, and the anthers at the centre are yellowy brown. These are followed by small roughly spherical indigo-coloured berries which range from about 0.7 to 1.2 cm (0.3-0.5 in) in diameter. These fruit are edible.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is distributed through a range in

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

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 ...

, and

. It occurs in a wide range of habitats, from coastal heathland and even sand dunes. ''Dianella caerulea'' has been introduced to

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

, Hawaii.

Cultivation

Believed to have been first propagated in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1783, ''Dianella caerulea'' is commonly cultivated in gardens, and is sometimes seen as a low-hedging plant in public spaces and amenities plantings. It is very hardy and long-lived, and suitable for rockeries. It is tolerant of poor drainage and responds well to extra moisture. Plants attract fruit-eating birds and butterflies in garden settings. The smaller denser forms in particular have potential for small gardens.

Plant Hardiness

''Dianella caerulea'' is a very hardy (snow and frost hardy) and long-lived plant once established. It can tolerate damp conditions but prefers moist well drained soil. It adapts readily to cultivation.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3014322

caerulea ''Caerulea'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small genus with only two species. *'' Caerulea coeligena'' (Oberthür, 1876) western China, central China. *'' Caerulea coelestis'' (Alphéraky, 1897) Tibet, western Chi ...

Asparagales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Garden plants of Australia