''Wahlenbergia gloriosa'', commonly known as royal bluebell is 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 widel ...

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 medicina ...

in the bluebell

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Campanulaceae. It has egg-shaped leaves near the base of its stem, linear leaves higher up and usually a single purple flower with a tube-shaped base. The flower is the

floral emblem In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...

of the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

Wahlenbergia gloriosa at Mount Buffalo National Park

Description

''Wahlenbergia gloriosa'' is a perennial herb with spreading

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow ...

s and erect, mostly unbranched stems high. The leaves are often crowded and vary in size and shape from egg-shaped to narrow elliptic near the base, to linear or lance-shaped higher up and from long and wide. The edges of the leaves are usually wavy and sometimes have small teeth. Usually a single flower, sometimes two or three are borne on a

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

pedicel long. There are glabrous, linear to lance-shaped

bracteoles 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 o ...

long on the pedicel. There are usually five glabrous, narrow triangular

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 long. The

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s are purple and joined at their bases to form a more or less bell-shaped tube long with four, five or six lobes on the end. The lobes are long and wide. There are usually five white

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the fila ...

s long and a white

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

with two branches on its end. Flowering occurs in spring and is followed by the fruit which is a glabrous, cone-shaped capsule long and wide.

Taxonomy and naming

''Wahlenbergia gloriosa'' was first formally described in 1947 by Noel Lothian and the description was published in the ''

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales ( Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society su ...

'' from a specimen collected on

Mount Buffalo Mount Buffalo is a mountain plateau of the Australian Alps and is within the Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, Australia. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is noted for its dramatic scenery. The summit of the high ...

by Percival St John. 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, bo ...

(''gloriosa'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

word meaning "famous" or "splendid".

Distribution and habitat

Royal bluebell is locally common in

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

woodland and forest, often in rocky places and in

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

grassland and

herbfield Herbfields are plant communities dominated by herbaceous plants, especially forbs and grasses. They are found where climatic conditions do not allow large woody plants to grow, such as in subantarctic and alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a t ...

above . It is found in the

, south-eastern

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 in the Victorian high country.

Use in horticulture

This species is a frost-hardy ground cover that grows best in a sunny or part-shade position in cooler parts of Australia. It can be propagated by

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

, from cuttings or from seed and grown in enriched soil. It prefers soil with well-rotted organic matter and for the soil to be kept moist but not water logged.

Cultural references

In 1982 ''Wahlenbergia gloriosa'' was announced as the floral emblem of the Australian Capital Territory (A.C.T.), by a selection committee chaired by the director of the Australian National Botanic Gardens. The main criterion was its occurrence in the A.C.T. but also because of its horticultural merit and its potential for incorporation in both naturalistic and stylised representations. A postage stamp featuring the royal bluebell was issued in August 1986.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3023379 Asterales of Australia Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Flora of New South Wales

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

gloriosa Plants described in 1947