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.
| 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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Description
editIt 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
editIt was first published by Robert Brown in his 1810 Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae.[4][5]
Distribution and habitat
editIt 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
editThe 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
edit- ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ "Spinifex longifolius R.Br". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Brown, Robert (1810), Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802–1805, London: R. Taylor et socii, p. 198, doi:10.5962/BHL.TITLE.3678, Wikidata Q7247677
- ^ Clayton, W.D.; Vorontsova, M.S.; Harman, K.T.; Williamson, H. "Spinifex longifolius". GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ^ 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. p. 20. ISBN 9781742589060.
Further reading
edit- Webster, R. D. (1987). The Australian Paniceae (Poaceae). Berlin: J. Cramer.