Archive for the 'Kangaroo Paws And Other Tufted Plants' Category

Xanthorrhoea Photo

Xanthorrhoea species (Grass Tree) from Kalbarri WA. Photo by Jeff

Xanthorrhoea species (Grass Tree) from Kalbarri WA. Photo by Jeff


A friend, Jeff, emailed this photo to me wondering about the botanical name (which he found for himself before I had read his email.) He said the photo was taken at Kalbarri in WA so I thought it probably was specifically Xanthorrhoea priessii when I looked up a reference. Then I realised that I had called the trunkless species by this name in a previous post.

Investigating this I realised that the trunkless species is Xanthorrhoea gracilis which grows around Perth, Western Australia. It seems that they are all probably frost hardy.

The trunk on a Xanthorrhoea is called a caudex.

I will show the reason for Jeff’s enquiry later!