''Calectasia palustris'', commonly known as a blue tinsel lily or swamp tinsel lily is a plant in the family

Dasypogonaceae Dasypogonaceae is a family of flowering plants, one that has not been commonly recognized by taxonomists; the plants it contains were usually included in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae. If valid, Dasypogonaceae includes four genera with 16 species. ...

growing as a

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 wide ...

, tufted

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with stilt roots. It is an uncommon species,

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 elsew ...

and restricted to a few areas in the south-west of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is similar to the other species of ''

Calectasia ''Calectasia'' is a genus of about fifteen species of flowering plants in the family Dasypogonaceae and is endemic to south-western Australia. Plants is this genus are small, erect shrubs with branched stems covered by leaf sheaths. The flowers ...

'' and has only been recognised as a separate species since a review of the genus in 2001.

Description

''Calectasia palustris'' is an undershrub with stilt roots 40–110 mm long but without a rhizome. It grows to a height of about 70 cm with many short side branches. Each leaf blade is 7–23 x 0.4–0.7 mm tapering to a short, sharp point on the end. The base of the petals (strictly

tepals A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

) form a tube 9.9–10.1 mm long, while the outer parts spread outwards to form a blue, papery star-like pattern fading to red with age. In the centre of the star are six yellow stamens forming a tube which does not turn orange-red with age. The thin style extends beyond the stamens. It is similar to the more common and widespread '' C. grandiflora'' except that it has stilt roots and no rhizome. It is also similar to '' C. obtusa'' except that there is a sharp point on the leaf tips, also possessed by most other members of the genus. Flowers appear from July to October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Calectasia palustris'' is one of eleven species in the genus ''Calectasia''. It was described as a new species in 2001 by K.W. Dixon and R.L. Barrett from a specimen collected south-west of Badgingarra. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''palustris'') is derived from the Latin ''palustria'', "swampy", referring to the unusual habitat preference for this species.Archibald William Smith

Distribution and habitat

This species of tinsel lily is uncommon and found in only two, separate areas of the south-west of Western Australia 70 kilometres apart between Cervantes and Coorow. These are in the Geraldton Sandplains and

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

biogeographic regions. It grows in seasonally inundated swamp and in grey sand.

Conservation status

''Calectasia palustris'' is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian government department of parks and wildlife meaning that it is poorly known and known from only one or a few locations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15588744 palustris Endemic flora of Western Australia Commelinids of Australia Plants described in 2001 Taxa named by Russell Lindsay Barrett