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The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system and census were set to read-only mode on 1 October 2025. Taxonomic updates published since this time are not being reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or Western Australia’s taxonomic names census (Nomos). Conservation listings displayed on Florabase may also be out of date. Please refer to DBCA’s Threatened species and communities webpage for the most recent Threatened and Priority Flora List, noting that recent taxonomic updates are similarly not included. Our database migration is moving to a staging phase. We thank you for your patience as we ensure the integrity of our biodiversity data, develop new workflows, and train staff to use the new systems. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

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Cyanella L.

Reference
Gen.Pl. Ed. 5, 149 (1754)
Name Status
Current

Scientific Description

Family Tecophilaeaceae.

Sometimes included in Liliaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Herbs. Perennial (leaves and inflorescence annual). Leaves basal. Plants with a basal concentration of leaves. Young stems erect and partly leafy. Cormous (globose). Leaves alternate; spiral, or distichous; sessile; sheathing. Leaf sheaths with free margins. Leaves simple. Leaf blades entire; linear to lanceolate, or ovate, or orbicular; ovate to linear; parallel-veined; without cross-venules; sheathing. Leaves without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire. Leaf anatomy. Guard-cells not ‘grass type’. Hairs absent. Extra-floral nectaries absent. Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in racemes. Inflorescences scapiflorous to not scapiflorous; terminal; inflorescence openly branched, to 40 cm tall. Flowers pedicellate (curved); bracteate (lanceolate); ebracteolate; regular; 3 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic. Perigone tube present (short), or absent. Perianth of ‘tepals’ (the members spreading or reflexed); 6; 2 -whorled; isomerous; petaloid; similar in the two whorls; white, or pink, or purple (lilac-purple). Androecial members definite in number. Androecium 6. Androecial members adnate; all equal, or markedly unequal; free of one another to coherent (via shortly connate filament bases). Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 6; all more or less similar in shape; diplostemonous; filantherous, or with sessile anthers. Anthers separate from one another, or connivent; basifixed; non-versatile; apically dehiscing via pores; introrse; appendaged, or unappendaged. The anther appendages apical, or basal, or apical and basal. Gynoecium 3 carpelled. The pistil 3 celled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; partly inferior. Ovary plurilocular; 3 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1; minutely 3 - lobed; small, capitate. Placentation axile. Ovules 20–50 per locule (numerous); in two rows; non-arillate; anatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent (loculicidally, apical); a capsule. Capsules apically loculicidal. Fruit many seeded. Seeds endospermic; small. Embryo well differentiated. Testa encrusted with phytomelan.