It’s a wonderful thing to have a mixture of field and office work in your day! While out doing a vegetation assessment this morning, I came across many Xanthorrhoea brunonis subsp. brunonis bursting with seed. Some capsules were open and empty, with the seed having fallen to the ground, while others were open but still contained their seeds. Some were still tightly closed. Xanthorrhoeas have ‘dehiscent’ seed capsules. That’s a fancy word for the natural shedding or releasing of a mature seed by the part of the plant that contains the seed. Some other examples of dehiscent native plants are acacias, banksias and eucalypts. Indehiscent fruits or capsules don’t release their seeds on maturity but rather retain them. Some examples are the Snottygobble (persoonia) and Dianella.
Xanthorrhoea brunonis subsp. brunonis seeds (the black parts) and the seed capsules (the brown parts)
I love nature’s ebbs and flows. Seeing these flower stalks now in seeds reminded me that only a few months ago, I was admiring and photographing the flowers that led to the formation of these seeds. If you compare the seed picture above to the ‘in full flower’ one below, you’ll get an idea of just how dense the seed capsules could be on the flowering stalk. On the plant above, only some of the flowers were pollinated and so formed seeds. The rest just withered away.
Xanthorrhoea preissii (Grass Tree) first flowers
Xanthorrhoea brunonis subsp. brunonis in full flower
The bush is brimming with plants in seed at this time of year; they’ll fall or be carried away by the wind, birds, ants and animals, to hopefully oneday become plants themselves…
Well, that’s a wrap. Until next time…
