Biology:Spinifex longifolius
| Beach spinifex | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
| Genus: | Spinifex |
| Species: | S. longifolius
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| Binomial name | |
| Spinifex longifolius | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Spinifex longifolius, commonly known as beach spinifex, is a perennial grass that grows in sandy regions along the seacoast. It also lives in most deserts around Australia.
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.[2]
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.[3]
Taxonomy
It was first published by Robert Brown in his 1810 Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae.[4][5]
Distribution and habitat
It occurs on coastal dunes of white sand, in Australia , Indonesia, and Thailand.[1][6] In Australia, it occurs from Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia, north and east to the western edge of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.[7]
Aboriginal uses
The Noongar people of southwest Western Australia used the juice from the young tips of the plant to drip into eyes as a relief for conjunctivitis.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ↑ "Spinifex longifolius R.Br.". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/625.
- ↑ Pike, G. D.; 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. http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?taxon_id=32179.
- ↑ , pp. 198, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36315437, Wikidata Q7247677
- ↑ Template:GrassBase
- ↑ CANB specimens of Spinifex longifolius in Australasia
- ↑ Hansen, V.; Horsefall, J. (2016). Noongar Bush Medicine Medicinal plants of the south-west of Western Australia. Crawley, WA: University of Western Australia. pp. 20. ISBN 9781742589060.
Further reading
- Webster, R. D. (1987). The Australian Paniceae (Poaceae). Berlin: J. Cramer.
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q7577555 entry
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