Romnalda grallata
| Romnalda grallata | |
|---|---|
| A flowering specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Lomandroideae |
| Genus: | Romnalda |
| Species: | R. grallata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Romnalda grallata | |
Romnalda grallata is a species of plant in the asparagus family Asparagaceae endemic to a small part of the Wet Tropics bioregion of Queensland, Australia. It was first described in 1982 and has a conservation status of least concern.
Description
Stem and foliage
Romnalda grallata is a perennial herb up to 40 cm (16 in) tall, with a slim stem up to 8 mm (0.31 in) thick. The stem may lay on the ground or grow upright, and it often produces stilt roots up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long. The leaves tightly clustered towards the end of each stem, and arranged alternately in two spirals. They measure up to 35 cm (14 in) long but only about 16 mm (0.63 in) wide, and may be curved slightly left or right. The leaf blade terminates with 3–8 small teeth.[4][5]
Flowers
The inflorescence is a panicle up to 29 cm (11 in) long with few branches carrying clusters of small flowers. Each flower has six tepals in two whorls of three, the tepals white (sometimes marked with purple) and about 4 mm (0.16 in) long. The flowers are 'perfect', i.e. they have both male and female parts; there are six stamens about 2 mm (0.08 in) long, and the ovary contains three chambers, each with two ovules. The style is about 3.5 mm (0.14 in) long.[4][5][6]
Fruit
The fruit is a yellow-orange capsule about 10 mm (0.39 in) long, with three segments, each with nil, one or (rarely) two seeds.[4][5][6]
Conservation
This species is listed as least concern under the Queensland Government's Nature Conservation Act.[1] As of October 2025, it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
References
- ^ a b "Romnalda grallata". Wildnet. Queensland Government. 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- ^ "Romnalda grallata". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- ^ a b "Romnalda grallata R.J.F.Hend". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- ^ a b c F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Romnalda grallata". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- ^ a b c Henderson, R. J. F. (1982). "Romnalda grallata, a New Species of the Xanthorrhoeaceae from Queensland". Kew Bulletin. 37 (2): 229–235. Bibcode:1982KewBu..37..229H. doi:10.2307/4109965. JSTOR 4109965.
- ^ a b Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 561. ISBN 978-0-9581742-1-3.
External links
- Map of herbarium collections of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
- Observations of this species on iNaturalist
- Images of this species on Flickriver.com