Dianella (plant)

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{About|the genus of flowering plants|other genera with this name|Dianella (disambiguation){{!}}Dianella}} {{automatic taxobox | taxon = Dianella (plant) | image = Dianella flowers.jpg | image_caption = ''Dianella'' sp. | authority = [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck|Lam.]] ex [[Antoine Laurent de Jussieu|Juss.]]<ref name="WCSP">{{cite web |url=http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=304063 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808033248/http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=304063 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |title=''Dianella'' |work=[[World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]] (WCSP) |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] }}</ref> | type_species = | type_species_authority = | synonyms_ref= <ref name="WCSP" /> | synonyms= ''Diana'' [[Philibert Commerson |Comm.]] ex [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck|Lam.]] }} [[File:Dianella revoluta revoluta.jpg|thumb|''[[Dianella revoluta]]'' flower]][[File:Starr 060221-6063 Dianella sandwicensis.jpg|thumb|''[[Dianella sandwicensis]]'' fruit]]

'''''Dianella''''' is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the [[Monocotyledon|monocot]] family [[Asphodelaceae]], commonly known as '''flax lilies'''.<ref name="Robinson">{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Les |title=Field guide to the native plants of Sydney |date=1991 |publisher=Kangaroo Press |location=Kenthurst, NSW |isbn=0864171927 |page=231}}</ref> Plants in this genus are tufted [[Herbaceous plant|herbs]] with more or less linear leaves and [[Plant reproductive morphology#Bisexual|bisexual]] flowers with three [[sepal]]s more or less similar to three petals and a [[superior ovary]], the fruit a [[Berry (botany)|berry]]. They occur in Africa, South-east Asia, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia.

Several species of this genus, or the whole genus, are sometimes referred to by the common name '''blue flax lily''', particularly in Australia.<ref>{{cite web | title=Blue flax lily (''Dianella'') | website=Children’s Health Queensland | date=17 July 2017 | url=https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/poisonous-plant-blue-flax-lily-dianella/ | access-date=24 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=''Dianella caerulea'' – Blue Flax Lily | website=Gardening With Angus | date=6 April 2019 | url=https://www.gardeningwithangus.com.au/dianella-caerulea/ | access-date=24 November 2020}}</ref>

==Description== Plants in the genus ''Dianella'' are tufted [[Perennial plant|perennial]], [[Rhizome|rhizomatous]] herbs with fibrous or fleshy roots, more or less linear leaves with their bases overlapping, bisexual flowers with three sepals more or less similar to three blue, purple or white petals and a superior ovary, and the fruit a berry.<ref name="ABRS">{{cite web |last1=Henderson |first1=Rodney J.F. |title=''Dianella'' Lam. |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Dianella |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra |accessdate=1 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="RBGV">{{cite web |last1=Conran |first1=John G. |title=''Dianella'' |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/747bd10f-57bb-4b1c-b83e-493adb2bd81c |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria |accessdate=1 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="RBGS">{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Karen L. |title=Genus ''Dianella'' |url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&showsyn=&dist=&constat=&lvl=gn&name=Dianella |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |accessdate=1 November 2020}}</ref><ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Dianella'' Lam.|id=21190}}</ref>

==Taxonomy== The name ''Dianella'' was first formally published by [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck]] in 1786 in his ''[[Encyclopédie Méthodique]]'',<ref name="Lam.">{{cite book |last1=Lamarck |first1=Jean Baptiste |title=Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique |volume=2 |date=1786 |location=Paris |page=276 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/720930#page/278/mode/1up |access-date=29 November 2021}}</ref> but this did not validly establish the name because Lamarck did not include a description of the new genus.<ref name="henderson1977">Rodney J.F. Henderson. 1977. Typification of ''Dianella'' Lam. ex Juss. (Liliaceae). ''[[Taxon (journal)|Taxon]]'' '''26'''(1):131-137.</ref> [[Antoine Laurent de Jussieu]] made it a [[Correct name (botany)|correct name]] in 1789 when he published a [[diagnosis (taxonomy)|description]] in the first edition of his ''[[Genera Plantarum]]''.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Dianella''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/526621 |publisher=APNI|access-date=29 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Juss.">{{cite book |last1=Jussieu |first1=Antoine L. |title=Antonii Laurentii de Jussieu Genera plantarum |date=1789 |location=Paris |page=41 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5437275#page/136/mode/1up |access-date=29 November 2021}}</ref> The name ''Dianella'' is a reference to the Roman goddess [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] with the suffix ''ella'' meaning "small".<ref name="ANBG">{{cite web |last1=Collis |first1=Robyn |title=''Dianella revoluta'' |url=https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2007/dianella-revoluta.html |publisher=Australian National Botanic Gardens |access-date=29 November 2021}}</ref>

The genus ''Dianella'' is closely related to ''[[Thelionema]]'' and ''[[Herpolirion]]''.<ref name="devey2006">Dion S. Devey, Ilia Leitch, Paula J. Rudall, J. Chris Pires, Yohan Pillon, and Mark W. Chase. "Systematics of Xanthorrhoeaceae sensu lato, with an emphasis on ''Bulbine''". ''Aliso'' '''22'''(''Monocots: Comparative Biology and Evolution''):345-351. ISSN 0065-6275.</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== Plants in the genus ''Dianella'' occur in Africa, South-east Asia, the Pacific Islands including Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia. About half of the species are [[Indigenous (ecology)|native]] to Australia.<ref>Starting out with Natives, John Wriggley & Murray Fagg</ref>

===Species list=== The following is a list of ''Dianella'' species accepted by the [[World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]] as at October 2020: {{Div col}} * ''[[Dianella acutifolia]]'' Schlittler - New Caledonia * ''[[Dianella adenanthera]]'' (G.Forst.) R.J.F.Hend. - numerous Pacific Islands * ''[[Dianella amoena]]'' G.W.Carr & P.F.Horsfall - Tasmania, Victoria * ''[[Dianella atraxis]]'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland * ''[[Dianella bambusifolia]]'' Hallier f. - Queensland, New Guinea * ''[[Dianella brevicaulis]]'' (Ostenf.) G.W.Carr & P.F.Horsfall - southern Australia * ''[[Dianella brevipedunculata]]'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland * ''[[Dianella caerulea]]'' Sims - New Guinea, eastern Australia ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''aquilonia'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''assera'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' Sims var. ''caerulea'' ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''cinerascans'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''petasmatodes'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''producta'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''protensa'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella caerulea'' var. ''vannata'' R.J.F.Hend. * ''[[Dianella callicarpa]]'' G.W.Carr & P.F.Horsfall - Victoria * ''[[Dianella carolinensis]]'' Lauterb. - Micronesia * ''[[Dianella congesta]]'' R.Br. - Queensland, New South Wales * ''[[Dianella crinoides]]'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland, New South Wales * ''[[Dianella daenikeri]]'' Schlittler - New Caledonia * ''[[Dianella dentata]]'' Schlittler - southeastern China * ''[[Dianella ensifolia]]'' (L.) DC. (syn. ''D. ensata'') Chimanimani Mountains of southern Africa; Indian Subcontinent, China, Madagascar, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Japan, islands in Indian Ocean * ''[[Dianella fruticans]]'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland * ''[[Dianella haematica]]'' Heenan & de Lange - North Island of New Zealand * ''[[Dianella incollata]]'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland * ''[[Dianella intermedia]]'' Endl. - Norfolk Island of Australia * ''[[Dianella javanica]]'' (Blume) Kunth - Southeast Asia, Papuasia * ''[[Dianella latissima]]'' Heenan & de Lange - North Island of New Zealand * ''[[Dianella longifolia]]'' R.Br. - widespread in Australia ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''fragrans'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''grandis'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella longifolia'' R.Br. var. ''longifolia'' ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''stenophylla'' Domin ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''stupata'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella longifolia'' var. ''surculosa'' R.J.F.Hend. * ''[[Dianella monophylla]]'' Hallier f. - New Guinea * ''[[Dianella nervosa]]'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland, New South Wales * ''[[Dianella nigra]]'' Colenso - North + South Islands of New Zealand * ''[[Dianella odorata]]'' Blume - Maluku, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Queensland, Northern Territory * ''[[Dianella pavopennacea]]'' R.J.F.Hend. - Queensland ** ''Dianella pavopennacea'' var. ''major'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella pavopennacea'' R.J.F.Hend. var. ''pavopennacea'' ** ''Dianella pavopennacea'' var. ''robusta'' R.J.F.Hend. * ''[[Dianella pendula]]'' Schlittler - îles Loyauté of New Caledonia * ''[[Dianella plicata]]'' Schlittler - New Caledonia * ''[[Dianella porracea]]'' (R.J.F.Hend.) Horsfall & G.W.Carr - Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia * ''[[Dianella prunina]]'' R.J.F.Hend. - New South Wales * ''[[Dianella rara]]'' R.Br. - Queensland * ''[[Dianella revoluta]]'' R.Br. - widespread in Australia ** ''Dianella revoluta'' var. ''divaricata'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella revoluta'' var. ''minor'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella revoluta'' (R.Br.) R.J.F.Hend.var. ''revoluta'' ** ''Dianella revoluta'' var. ''tenuis'' R.J.F.Hend. ** ''Dianella revoluta'' var. ''vinosa'' R.J.F.Hend. * ''[[Dianella saffordiana]]'' Fosberg & Sachet - Guam * ''[[Dianella sandwicensis]]'' Hook. & Arn. - New Caledonia, Hawaiian Islands, Marquesas * ''[[Dianella serrulata]]'' Hallier f. - Queensland, New Guinea * ''[[Dianella stipitata]]'' Schlittler - New Caledonia * ''[[Dianella tarda]]'' Horsfall & G.W.Carr - New South Wales, Victoria * ''[[Dianella tasmanica]]'' Hook.f. - Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales * ''[[Dianella tenuissima]]'' G.W.Carr - New South Wales {{Div col end}}

==Uses== Several species of ''Dianella'' are grown for their attractive foliage and shiny, blue to purple berries.<ref name="rhs">[[Anthony Huxley]], Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (1992). ''The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening''. The Macmillan Press, Limited: London. The Stockton Press: New York. {{ISBN|978-0-333-47494-5}} (set).</ref>

Reports of the edibility of the fruit range from very poisonous<ref name="poisonous1">{{cite web |title=Garden plants poisonous to people |url=http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/112796/garden-plants-poisonous-to-people.pdf |publisher=New South Wales Government Department of Primary Industries |accessdate=1 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="poisonous2">{{Cite web |url=http://www.alpaca.asn.au/docs/about/husbandry/poison_plants.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2011-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403215001/http://www.alpaca.asn.au/docs/about/husbandry/poison_plants.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to sweet and nutty (such as ''D. caerulea''),<ref name="bush_food">{{cite web |url=http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/plant_info/aboriginal_bush_foods |title=Aboriginal bush foods - Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust - Sydney, Australia |accessdate=2011-10-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903044317/http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/plant_info/aboriginal_bush_foods |archivedate=2011-09-03 }}</ref> and the beach flax lily (''D. congesta'') is reportedly the best-tasting.<ref name="food">Wild food plants of Australia, Tim Low</ref>

The leaves are used to weave [[Dillybag|dillies]] and baskets by Indigenous Australians.<ref name="food"/>

==See also== * [[List of plants known as lily]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Dianella}} * [http://anpsa.org.au/APOL29/mar03-14.html#item4 Australian plants online]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dianella (Plant)}} [[Category:Asphodelaceae genera]] [[Category:Dianella (plant)| ]]