''Astelia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 ...

s in the recently named 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 th ...

. They are

rhizomatous 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 ho ...

tufted

perennials 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 ...

native to various islands in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, and

South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

s, as well as to Australia and to the southernmost tip of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. A significant number of the known species are

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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

., search for "Astelia" The species generally grow in forests, swamps and amongst low alpine vegetation; occasionally they are

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

Species

The genus is divided into a number of subgenera and these are further divided into sections. These contain the following species: * subgenus ''Astelia'' ** section ''Astelia'' *** ''

Astelia alpina ''Astelia alpina'' called pineapple grass, silver astelia, or perching lily is a commonly found species in alpine and subalpine areas of Tasmania and the Australian Alps.Pickering, C.M., Jordan, M., and Hill, W. (2004) "Sexual dimorphism and sex ...

'' R.Br. - Pineapple Grass, Silver Astelia, native to eastern Australia **** ''Astelia alpina'' var. ''alpina'' **** ''Astelia alpina'' var. ''novae-hollandiae'' Skottsb. *** '' Astelia papuana'' Skottsb.- native to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

*** ''

Astelia linearis ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southern ...

'' Hook.f.- native to North and South Islands of New Zealand **** ''Astelia linearis'' var. ''linearis'' **** ''Astelia linearis'' var. ''novae-zelandiae'' Skottsb. *** ''

Astelia subulata ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southern ...

'' (Hook.f.) Cheesem. - native to South Island + Antipodean Islands of New Zealand ** section ''Palaeastelia'' Skottsb. *** ''

Astelia hemichrysa ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southern ...

'' (Lam.) Kunth - native to Réunion +

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

* subgenus ''Asteliopsis'' Skottsb. ** section ''Desmoneuron'' Skottsb. *** ''

Astelia solandri ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southern ...

'' A.Cunn. - native to North and South Islands of New Zealand *** ''

Astelia trinervia ''Astelia trinervia'' is a species of rhizomatous tufted perennial native to New Zealand. An example occurrence of this species is in the North Island's Hamilton Ecological District, where it occurs in the understory associated with ''Blechnum d ...

'' Kirk - native to North Island and north-west South Island of New Zealand *** ''

Astelia nadeaudii ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southern ...

'' Drake - native to Tahiti + Raiatea in French Polynesia *** ''Astelia raiateensis'' J.W.Moore - see ''

'' ** section ''Isoneuron'' Skottsb. *** ''

Astelia banksii ''Astelia banksii'' is an evergreen silver-green plant from the beaches of New Zealand. It likes it best in partial shade and in infertile and well-drained soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean m ...

'' A.Cunn. - Native to North Island of

*** ''

Astelia neocaledonica ''Astelia neocaledonica'' is a rhizomatous 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 ...

'' Schltr. - endemic to New Caledonia. * subgenus ''Collospermum'' Skottsb. *** ''

Astelia hastata ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southernm ...

'' Colenso -

- formerly ''Collospermum hastatum'' (Colenso) Skottsb. *** '' Astelia microsperma'' Colenso - North Island of

- formerly ''Collospermum microspermum'' (Colenso) Skottsb. *** '' Astelia montana'' Seem. - Fiji and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

- formerly ''Collospermum montanum'' (Seem.) Skottsb. *** ''

Astelia samoense ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southe ...

'' (Skottsb.) Birch -

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

- formerly ''Collospermum samoense'' Skottsb. *** ''Astelia spicata'' Colenso, formerly ''Collospermum spicatum'' (Colenso) Skottsb., would fall into this subgenus but was rejected by Birch as a species. * subgenus ''Tricella'' Skottsb. ** section ''Tricella'' Skottsb. *** ''

Astelia australiana ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southern ...

'' (J.H.Willis) L.B.Moore - Tall Astelia, native to the State of Victoria in Australia *** '' Astelia chathamica'' (Skottsb.) L.B.Moore - Silver Spear, native to

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

of New Zealand *** '' Astelia fragrans'' Col. - Bush Flax, Bush Lily, Kakaha, native to North and South Islands of New Zealand *** '' Astelia graminea'' L.B.Moore- native to northern South Island of New Zealand *** '' Astelia grandis'' Hook.f. ex Kirk- native to North and South Islands of New Zealand *** '' Astelia nervosa'' Banks & Sol. ex Hook.f.- Mountain Astelia, native to North and South Islands of New Zealand *** '' Astelia nivicola'' Ckn. ex Cheesem. - native to South Island of New Zealand **** ''Astelia nivicola'' var. ''nivicola'' **** ''Astelia nivicola'' var. ''moriceae'' L.B.Moore *** '' Astelia petriei'' Ckn. - native to South Island of New Zealand *** '' Astelia psychrocharis'' F.Muell. - Kosciusko Pineapple Grass, native to Mt. Kosciusko in Australia *** '' Astelia skottsbergii'' L.B.Moore - native to north-west South Island of New Zealand ** section ''Periastelia'' Skottsb. *** '' Astelia argyrocoma'' A.Heller ex Skottsb. - native to Kauai Island in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

*** ''

Astelia menziesiana ''Astelia menziesiana'' is a species of plant in the family Asteliaceae that is Endemism, endemic to the state of Hawaii in the United States. Hawaiian names for the plant are kaluaha, paʻiniu, or puaʻakuhinia. It is a non-woody, clumping plan ...

'' Sm. in A.Rees - native to

*** ''

Astelia rapensis ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the south ...

'' Skottsb. - native to Rapa-Iti Island in French Polynesia *** '' Astelia tovii'' F.Br. - Marquesas in French Polynesia *** '' Astelia waialealae'' Wawra - native to Kauai Island in

** section ''Micrastelia'' Skottsb. *** '' Astelia pumila'' (J.R.Forst.) Gaudich. - native to western

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

and

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

References

* Asparagales genera Asteliaceae Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) Taxa named by Daniel Solander Taxa named by Joseph Banks {{Asparagales-stub