FRINGE-LILY

Thysanotus tuberosus, known as the common fringe-lily is a perennial herb in the Asparagaceae family, which is endemic to Australia. The generic name comes from the Greek θύσανος (thysanos) and means "tasselled", while species name tuberosus refers to the crisp tasting edible root.

The leaves are linear in shape, and round at cross section towards the top. The plant reaches a height from 20 cm to 60 cm tall and grows in a wide variety of situations, from semi-arid parts of south eastern Australia to coastal areas receiving more than 1300 mm of rain per year. The plants are often found in open country, heathlands or in dry sclerophyll woodland.

Flowers form from September to April. The three-petalled flowers are purple, with frilly edges, and only last for one day. They are among the more colourful wildflowers in Southeastern Australia. There are two sub-species: The tepals are somewhat longer and wider in subsp. tuberosus, being 10 to 19 mm long, and around 10 mm wide. In subsp. parviflorus the inner anthers are smaller, and straight to slightly curved. 

Fringe-lilies are not often seen in cultivation despite their obvious beauty. Generally they have proved to be difficult to maintain in cultivation.T. tuberosus should be grown in a well-drained sunny position. It is also suited to growing in a container. Propagation is relatively easy from seed which does not require any special pre-treatment.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

SUMMER FLOWERS

A beautiful Summer's evening in our garden today, and a pleasure to walk amongst the fragrant, colourful flowers.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Pelargonium

Dragon Wing Begonia

Tuberose

Carnation

Climbing rose

Zinnia

Four'o'clocks

Rhapsody in Blue rose

Alstroemeria

LOMANDRA

Lomandra (also known as mat rushes) is a genus of perennial herbs in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae. There are 51 species, all of which are native to Australia; two of them also extend into New Guinea and New Caledonia. It has formerly been assigned to the family Dasypogonaceae, Xanthorrhoeaceae or Liliaceae. They are generally tufted deciduous perennials with long narrow blade-like leaves that arise from a central stemless base and have thick woody rhizomes and fibrous roots.

The plant is often used for revegetation and erosion control. The starchy, fleshy bases of the leaves are edible, tasting of raw peas. Even when the roots are exposed it will cling tenaciously in poor soils. Indigenous Australians ground the seeds for use in damper, and the long, flat, fibrous leaves were used for weaving. The base of the leaves contains water, and was chewed by those in danger of dehydration.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

FIRST DAY OF SPRING

It was the first day of Spring here in Melbourne today and the weather was a mix of fair and wet, cool and warm, blue skies and cloud! Nevertheless, a walk around the neighbourhood and in the garden didn't disappoint as lots of flowers and trees were blooming. Can you identify all of these wonderful flowers?

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

AGAVES IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

Agave attenuata is a species of agave in the Asparagaceae family, sometimes known as the "lion's tail," "swan's neck," or "foxtail" for its development of a curved stem, unusual among agaves. Native to the plateau of the State of Jalisco in central Mexico, as one of the unarmed agaves, it is popular as an ornamental plant in gardens in many other places. It is reportedly naturalised in Madeira and Libya.

The stems typically range from 50 to 150 cm in length, and eventually old leaves fall off, leaving them visible. The leaves are ovate-acuminate, 50–70 cm long and 12–16 cm wide, pale in colour, ranging from a light gray to a light yellowish green. There are no teeth, nor terminal spines, although the leaves taper to points that fray with age.

The inflorescence is a dense raceme 2.5 to 3 meters high, with greenish-yellow flowers. Specimens were sent to Kew by the explorer Galeotti in 1834, from an unspecified location in central Mexico. More recent study has reported it from Jalisco east to Mexico, in small colonies at elevations of 1,900 to 2,500 meters, but there have been few sightings, suggesting this agave is rare in the wild.

In cultivation, Agave attenuata is said to prefer relatively moist loamy soil, although it can cope with poor soil and dry conditions. It should be protected from direct sunlight in summer and from long periods of frost. It grows extremely well in Melbourne and is very common in gardens. Flowering specimens are also commonly seen, such as this magnificent specimen in a neighbour's house. After flowering the flower spike will die but suckers from the new plant will form at the bottom of the old plant meaning it will continue to grow in the garden. The plant forms seeds readily so could also be grown readily from seed.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 49 - CORDYLINE

Cordyline australis, commonly known as the "cabbage tree", is a widely branched monocot tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to 20 metres tall with a stout trunk and sword-like leaves, which are clustered at the tips of the branches and can be up to 1 metre long. With its tall, straight trunk and dense, rounded heads, C. australis is a characteristic feature of the New Zealand landscape. Its fruit is a favourite food source for the New Zealand pigeon and other native birds.

It grows in a broad range of habitats, including forest margins, river banks and open places, and is abundant near swamps. The largest known tree with a single trunk is growing at Pakawau, Golden Bay. It is estimated to be 400 or 500 years old, and stands 17 metres tall with a circumference of 9 metres at the base.

Known to Māori as tī kōuka, the tree was used as a source of food, particularly in the South Island, where it was cultivated in areas where other crops would not grow. It provided durable fibre for textiles, anchor ropes, fishing lines, baskets, waterproof rain capes and cloaks, and sandals.

Hardy and fast growing, C. australis is widely planted in New Zealand and Australian gardens, parks and streets, and numerous cultivars are available. It is also grown as an ornamental tree in Northern Hemisphere countries with mild maritime climates, including the warmer parts of the British Isles, where its common names include Torquay palm.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

LA TROBE UNIVERSITY MARKET

We often go by the La Trobe University Sunday market as it is full of life and there are some great bargains to be found there, especially so the nursery items, flowers and fresh food. The flowers are always a pleasure to behold and the hyacinths have already started to appear, even though they are meant to be Spring flowers! The prices as you can see in the signs are very reasonable.

This post is part of the Signs, Signs meme,

and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.