Spinifex longifolius
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| Spinifex longifolius | ||||||||||||||
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| Spinifex longifolius R.Br. |
Spinifex longifolius, commonly known as Beach Spinifex, is a perennial grass that grows along the northern and eastern rim of the Indian Ocean.
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[edit] Description
It grows as a tussock from 30 centimetres to a metre high, and up to two metres wide. It has long flat leaves, and green or brown flowers.[1]
It is similar in appearance to S. littoreus, but that species has hard, sharp leaves capable of drawing blood, whereas the leaves of S. longifolius are a good deal softer.[2]
[edit] Taxonomy
It was first published by Robert Brown in his 1810 Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae. Since that time its taxonomic history has remained entirely uneventful; as a result it has neither any synonyms nor an infrageneric taxa.[3]
[edit] Distribution and habitat
It occurs on coastal dunes of white sand, in Australia and northern areas of the Indian Ocean.[4] In Australia, it occurs from Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia, north and east to the western edge of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Spinifex longifolius R.Br.. FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia.
- ^ Pike, G. D. and Leach, G. J. (1997). Handbook of the vascular plants of Ashmore and Cartier Islands. Canberra: Parks Australia.
- ^ Spinifex longifolius R.Br.. Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
- ^ Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards). Spinifex longifolius. GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ^ CANB specimens of Spinifex longifolius in Australasia
[edit] Further reading
- Webster, R. D. (1987). The Australian Paniceae (Poaceae). Berlin: J. Cramer.
