Wildflowers, Photos and Grass Trees

Grass Trees are a distinctive part of our landscape and they are only found in Australia. We see them often as we travel around, making dramatic silhouettes against the skyline, or signalling new life after a bushfire.Image Could Not Be Found

We have a few photos – hopefully some EO readers will also have some photos of these amazing plants that they are willing to share.

Characteristically grass trees have blackened trunks surrounded by a skirt of rough grass-like leaves up to a metre in length, all topped by a long spear-like flower spike that in some species may be a meters long.

The Latin name for the genus is Xanthorrhoea (pronounced Zan-thor-ria)

They are flowering plants distantly related to the lily family – they are not true grasses. There are about 30 species of Xanthorrhoea and they are found in all states including Tasmania. One species, Xanthorrhoea thorntonii, the Tate Grass Tree grows in arid areas of Central Australia.

Not all grass trees develop an above-ground stem or trunk, in which case there is just a tuft of leaves at ground level. In those species that do form a trunk some species are unbranched, and others naturally grow numerous branches.

Flowers vary Image Could Not Be Foundfrom white to cream and are borne on a long spike with a long bare stem that can be up to four metres long in some species. There is a distinct flowering period, which varies for each species. Flowering can also be stimulated by bushfire. The spikes are packed with strongly scented small flowers that attract a wide variety of insects, birds and mammals that act as pollinators.

These remarkable plants have a lifespan of 600 years but are very slow-growing with the trunk taking a decade to form initially as it is composed of a mass of old leaf bases held together by a natural resin.

Aborigines collected the flakes of resin from around the base of the trunk, heated them, and rolled it into balls to be later reheated, softened and used as a glue for making tools. The long smooth flower stalks could be used as spears. They also lit fires by rubbing two pieces of the dry flower stalk together, soaked the fresh flower spikes in water to make a sweet or slightly fermented drink, and used the tough seed pods as knives to cut meat. Image Could Not Be Found

European settlers harvested the resinous gum to make varnishes and lacquers. During World War II many cans of tinned food sent to Australian troops in the Pacific had a protective coat of grass tree varnish to stop the containers rusting.

Now grass trees are much sought after for landscaping. With the necessary permit, the removal of these plants from land marked for clearing and replanting them later is one way of saving the plants. This ensures the plants will live on for generations to come. They require very little water and maintenance. Even in cultivation grass trees attract a wide range of lizards and insects that shelter in the plant’s massive foliage. The flowering spear of the plant attracts honey eating birds, bees, ants, and butterflies.

Some of the more common species that we are likely to see in our travels include:

Xanthorrhoea australis, is native to South Eastern Australia, and known as the Australian Grass Tree or Kangaroo Tail. It has very long, thin, grass-like leaves up to one metre and is generally found among rocky hills. It is the most commonly seen species of grass tree. Its fire-blackened trunk can grow up to several metres tall and is often branched. The main way to identify the different species is by looking at the cross-section of the leaves. In the case of the Xanthorrhoea australis, the cross-section is a rough diamond shape, and the colour of the leaves is a bluish-green. It is not often seen in bloom because this species requires fire to stimulate flowering. The skirt of leaves of will be almost spherical in shape.

Xanthorrhoea macronema is found in Queensland and New South Wales.
It is tufted and trunkless with many flexible linear leaves about 1 metre long that rise from the ground. The cream flower spike has a 1.5 metre stem, while the flower spike varies in length from 5 to 13 centimetres. From a distance the flower spike resembles a banksia flower. It flowers in spring to summer.

Xanthorrhoea preisii is from Western Australia and is also known as the Western Grass Tree. It has an upright or slightly twisted trunk that can reach 6 metres at maturity. It likes sand, sandy loam, loam or gravel soils.Image Could Not Be Found

Xanthorrhoea minor is small with a slender flower spike. It is widespread on poor sandy soils and native to Tasmania.

There are some other Australian plants with a similar appearance to Xanthorrhoea. The Kingias that are seen in the Stirling Ranges of WA have at times been confused with Xanthorrhoeas and mis-named as grasstrees.