- Dianella
Key to the species of Dianella
1Anthers yellow, pale yellowish-brown or purplish; leaf margins flat or slightly recurved, midrib usually scabrous or toothed (but sometimes sparsely and/or minutely so), margins smooth or toothed2 1Anthers brown to almost black; leaf margins often revolute above basal sheath, midrib and margins virtually or quite smooth10 2Leaves strongly discolorous, margins and abaxial midrib prominently serrate-scabrous3 2Leaves more or less concolorous, margins and abaxial midribs rather sparsely and irregularly serrate-scabrous or smooth5 3Leaves 8–20 mm wide; anther distinctly longer than struma, filaments strongly kinked; rather slender plants of grasslands, scrubs and woodlands, chiefly on basalt-derived, sometimes swampy soilsDianella callicarpa 3Leaves mostly at least 20 mm wide; anther equal to or shorter than its subtending struma; robust plants mostly of moist shaded forests and montane to subalpine woodlands4 4Ripe fruits purple, soft-textured when ripe; from near sea-level to c. 1300 m altitudeDianella tasmanica 5Leaf-sheath closely folded and fused about the midrib, clearly differentiated from blade; leaves dark green; rhizomatous or stoloniferous plants mostly to c. 0.5 m high, rarely ascending higher via leafy stems; roots fibrous6 5Leaf-sheath broadly V-shaped or Y-shaped in section, not markedly distinct from blade; leaves usually pale, often glaucous; tufted or shortly rhizomatous plants, often higher than 0.5 m; roots fleshy7 6Leaf sheaths near base with >12 barely raised nerves; leaves typically ascending; anthers yellow; east from Orbost areaDianella caerulea → 6Leaf sheaths near base with <10 prominently raised nerves (indistinct, finer intervening nerves sometimes visible); leaves typically widely spreading; anthers pale lilac to purple; east from Kinglake areaDianella sp. aff. caerulea (West Gippsland) 7Plants rhizomatous, forming loose colonies; leaves 4–9(–12) mm wide, somewhat glaucous, soft-texturedDianella amoena 7Plants clumping, or if ever distinctly rhizomatous then leaves >10 mm wide and/or neither at once glaucous and soft-textured8 8Leaves rather strongly channelled, usually more or less erect, to c. 10 mm wide at midway when flattened. Flowers opening in the afternoon and remaining open until eveningDianella tarda 8Leaves broadly V-shaped to flat, usually spreading to some extent, mostly wider than 10 mm at midway. Flowers opening during the morning and collapsing by mid-afternoon9 9Leaves arcuate, arched away from scape; blades distinctly glaucous to pruinose, to 20 mm wide; mainly north-western VictoriaDianella porracea 9Leaves not conspicuously arcuate; blades green to somewhat glaucous; widespreadDianella longifolia → Modified from: Conran, J.G. (1994). Liliaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J. (eds), Flora of Victoria. Vol. 2. Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
