Gardening with Indigenous Plants
Indigenous Plant Use
Identification & Control of Common Weeds
| Botanical Name: | Dianella tasmanica |
| Common Name: | blue flax lily, tasman flax-lily |
| Sold As: | 140 mm pot ($5.00) |
| Plant Type(s): | Lily, Ground Cover (up to 30 cm), Bird Attracting, Butterfly Attracting, Insect Attracting, Indigenous Plant Use |
| Indigenous Plant Use: | Dark blue or purple berries are edible when ripe..CAUTION: Many plants are poisonous if not collected and prepared properly! |
| Growing Conditions: | Partial Shade, Shade
Moist |
| Size (HxW): | 1.5 m x 2 m |
| Foliage: | Broad dark green strap leaves 20-95 cm x 2-4 cm, standing erect. Sheathed at base. Regularly and prominently teethed on margins and midrib of lower surface. |
| Flowers: | Blue. Pale yellow anthers shorter than swollen dark yellow stalk, August-February. Strong, many-branched flowerhead, generally taller than leaves, with many flowers, petals spreading to bent backwards. Berry shiny, smooth, purple. |
| General Comments: | Very robust tufted perennial forming a large clump, spreading vigorously from strong yellow underground stems. Birds like the berries, caterpillars like the leaves. Good frog habitat. Likes moist soil in cool sheltered mountain and foothill forests. Frost and snow tolerant. Vigorous tuft for planting under established trees. Spreads less vigorously in drier conditions. Leaves will burn in full sun. |
 Further Information: |
This image by Anne Roberts, has licence: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/>
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