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Xanthorrhoea australis

Common name:	Grasstree	Family:	Xanthorrhoeaceae
Author:	R.Br.	Botanical references:	154, 265
Synonyms:	Xanthorrhoea media (R.Br.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Australia - New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria.
Habitat:	Poor sandy or heathy soils up to the montane zone[154].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Xanthorroea australis[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Australian Grass Tree [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	australis = southern;

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 1m by 1m . It is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Nectar; Root; Stem.

The pith of the stem is eaten raw or roasted, it has an agreeable nutty taste that is slightly balsamic[193]. It contains about 41% carbohydrate, 3.5% protein and traces of vitamin C[193]. It is possible to extract sugar from the stem[193].
Leaf bases - chewed[144]. They are hard to detach from the plant[144]. They sometimes taste sweet and juicy though more often they are tough and astringent[193].
The flowers produce an abundance of nectar and this can be collected from the flowers, either by sucking the flowers or by cooking them up to produce a syrup[144].
The root might be edible[144].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Miscellany.

The resin has medicinal uses[171]. No details are given.

Other Uses

Adhesive; Friction sticks; Incense; Resin; Size; Varnish.

A resin collects around the bases of old leaves and can be collected by beating the stems[171]. It can be used as a varnish for wood or metal[154, 156, 171] and as an incense[156]. It can also be used as a size, a sealing wax, mahogany stain for wood and medicinally[171]. It makes a good glue[193]. The gum is soft and pliable when heated over a flame but it cools to a rock-hard consistency[193].
The flower stems are good firesticks[193].

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained light or medium soil and a very sunny position[200]. Succeeds in poor soils in the wild[154].
This species is not very frost-hardy in this country and normally requires greenhouse protection[1]. It tolerates temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[K], though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer colder and wetter winters. It would certainly be worthwhile trying it outdoors in the mildest areas of the country[K].
Other members of this genus should also have the same edible and non-edible uses[144, 193].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in about 5 weeks[157]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter and plant them out in late spring or early summer, giving them the protection of a frame or cloche until they are growing away happily. Protect the outdoor plants for at least their first winter.
Division of offsets in late spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Xanthorrhoea media (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Xanthorroea australis (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[144] Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
A very good pocket guide.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[156] Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Useful Wild Plants in Australia. William Collins Pty Ltd. Sidney 1981 ISBN 0-00-216441-8
A very readable book.

[157] Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[193] Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[265] Carolin. R. & Tindale. M. Flora of the Sydney Region Reed. Australia. 1993 ISBN 0730104001
Concise flora with little beyond an extensive key, species descriptions, very brief habitat description.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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