''Blandfordia grandiflora'', commonly known as Christmas bells, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

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 else ...

to eastern Australia. It is a tufted

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 wid ...

herb with narrow, channelled, linear leaves and between two and twenty large, drooping, bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are red with yellow tips, or sometimes entirely yellow. It is one of four species of ''

Blandfordia ''Blandfordia'', commonly known as Christmas bells, is a genus of four species of flowering plants native to eastern Australia. Christmas bells are tufted, perennial herbs with narrow, linear leaves and up to twenty large, drooping, cylindric ...

'' known as Christmas bells, this one growing on the coast and nearby ranges between Sydney in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Fraser Island Fraser Island ( Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fras ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Description

''Blandfordia grandiflora'' is a tufted perennial plant with flat, linear, channelled leaves usually up to long and wide. The flowering stem is unbranched, up to long and about wide but sometimes up to long. There are between two and twenty flowers, each on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

stalk up to long with a small bract near its base. The 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 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s and three petals are fused to form a bell-shaped flower usually long and about wide at the tip. The base of the flower is narrow, then expands gradually towards the tip where there are six pointed lobes about long. The flower is usually red with yellow lobes, but sometimes entirely yellow. The stamens are attached to the inside wall of the flower tube, just below its middle. Flowering occurs from late spring to early summer, and is followed by the fruit which is a capsule about long on a stalk up to long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Blandfordia grandiflora'' was first described in 1810 by Robert Brown, who collected specimens near the

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

. The description was published in ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen ''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 Novae ...

''. The name ''Blandfordia'' honors the Marquis of Blandford, and the specific epithet ''grandiflora'' is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''grandis'' meaning "great" and the suffix ''-flora'' meaning "flowered".

Distribution and habitat

This species of Christmas bells grows in damp soils on the coast and tablelands between the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

in New South Wales, Fraser Island in Queensland and inland as far as Glen Innes.

Use in horticulture

Although ''Blandfordia grandiflora'' is endemic to Australia, in the nineteenth century many botanists grew it in Great Britain because it can easily be grown as a potted plant. ''B. grandiflora'' grows well in sandy soils. The wet coastal heaths of Australia, such as those found in New South Wales and Queensland, have the sandy soil necessary for it to grow. The soil should be light and well-drained, and the plant should not be in direct sunlight or in heavy shade. Although it is the most robust of the four species, ''B. grandiflora'' is very slow growing, so more aggressive plants easily swamp it in the wild.

Culture

The species was illustrated on Australian stamps issued in 1960 and Christmas 1967.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4925025 Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Blandfordiaceae Rare flora of Australia Christmas plants Plants described in 1810