''Neoastelia '' is a genus of plants in the family

Asteliaceae Asteliaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family has only recently been recognized by taxonomists. The APG III system of 2009 (unchanged from the 1998 and 2003 versions) does recognize thi ...

containing the single species ''Neoastelia spectabilis'', commonly known as the silver sword lily, that is

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 ...

to a small area on the

Northern Tablelands The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...

of New South Wales. It is a species of

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 long, linear leaves and large groups of whitish flowers, followed by spherical, pale green berries.

Description

''Neoastelia spectabilis'' is a tufted herb with more or less linear leaves long and wide with drooping ends, and silvery white on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s long on a thick peduncle long. Each panicle consists of smaller, many-flowered

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s with a

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

at the base, the individual flowers whitish and wide 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 ...

long. Flowering occurs from November to December and the fruit is an oval to spherical, pale green berry long containing between 70 and 150 small black seeds.

Taxonomy

''Neoastelia spectabilis'' was first formally described in 1987 by J.B. Williams in ''

Flora of Australia The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 30,000 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, ...

'' from specimens he collected in 1978.

Distribution and habitat

Silver sword lily grows in rocks crevices near waterfalls and on wet rocks in the

New England National Park The New England National Park is a protected national park located on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The park was created in May 1935 and is situated approximately north of Sydney, and south ...

in Antarctic beech (''

Nothofagus moorei ''Nothofagus moorei'', commonly known as Antarctic beech, is an important Gondwana relict of the rainforests of the southern hemisphere. It occurs in wet, fire-free areas at high altitude in eastern Australia. The Antarctic beech group (Nothofa ...

'') forest, at altitudes between .

Conservation status

This species is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

'' and the New South Wales Government '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016''. The main threats to the species include trampling by walkers, illegal collection and its small population size. It is only known from four populations in the New England National Park.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q6039936, from2=Q16756123 Asteliaceae Monotypic Asparagales genera Flora of New South Wales Taxa named by John Beaumont Williams Plants described in 1987