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are three native species of Xanthorrhoea (grasstree) in
Tasmania. These all grow in dry forests and heaths
and have very long (up to ~ 1m long), tough, narrow (~1-2mm)
leaves in a dense tuft, overtopped by woody spike several cm
thick and up to 3m tall. In one species (X.
australis) the tuft of leaves is borne on a
massive trunk (sometimes branched) covered in leaf bases,
this trunk can be up to 3m tall.
Lomandra was
previously placed in the same family as Xanthorrhoea
and was once considered to be part of Liliaceae, which was
a very artificial grouping of plants and has therefore
been splintered in numerous families. To see the fates of
the other Tasmanian genera formerly in Liliaceae click here.
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University of Tasmania
