| # The Families of Angiosperms |

L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz

### Blandfordiaceae Dahlgren and Clifford

~ Liliaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Herbs. Perennial (erect, about 150 cm tall); with a basal aggregation of leaves (usually), or without conspicuous aggregations of leaves; cormous and tuberous. Helophytic to mesophytic (in moist sandy and peaty soils and swamps). Leaves alternate; distichous; sessile; sheathing; simple. Lamina entire; linear; parallel-veined. Lamina margins entire.

Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; anomocytic. Hairs absent. Lamina without secretory cavities. The mesophyll containing crystals, or without crystals. The crystals druses (? — neither raphides nor styloids).

Axial (stem, wood) anatomy. Secretory cavities absent. Secondary thickening absent.

Reproductive type, pollination. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present, or absent (? — no septal nectaries).

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’ (usually), or solitary (then axillary); usually in racemes. The ultimate inflorescence units racemose. Inflorescences scapiflorous to not scapiflorous (the peduncle with leaflike bracts); terminal; racemes. Flowers bracteate (with one leaflike bract); bracteolate (with one bracteole); regular (pendulous); 3 merous; cyclic; pentacyclic. Floral receptacle developing a gynophore (noticeable in the fruit). Perigone tube present (tubular to campanulate).

Perianth of ‘tepals’; 6; joined; 2 whorled (3+3); isomerous; petaloid; similar in the two whorls; yellow, orange, and red (the tube orange-red, the lobes yellow). Tepal apex trichomes (TAT) present.

Androecium 6. Androecial members adnate (to the perianth tube, about one third of the distance from its base); all equal; free of one another; 2 whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 6; diplostemonous; alterniperianthial. Anthers dorsifixed; versatile; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; latrorse. Pollen grains aperturate; 1 aperturate; sulcate; 2-celled.

Gynoecium 3 carpelled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. The pistil 3 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary 3 locular; stipitate. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1; slightly 3 lobed; capitate. Placentation axile. Ovules 40–50 per locule; anatropous; crassinucellate. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization. Synergids hooked (with filiform apparatus). Endosperm formation helobial.

Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent; a capsule. Capsules septicidal. Seeds endospermic (the endosperm starchless); conspicuously hairy (felted). Seeds without starch. Cotyledons 1. Testa papillose- hairy; without phytomelan; brown.

Physiology, phytochemistry. Not cyanogenic. Proanthocyanidins present, or absent; when present, cyanidin. Flavonols present; quercetin, or kaempferol and quercetin (?). Ellagic acid absent.

Geography, cytology. Australian. Eastern Australia and Tasmania.

Taxonomy. Subclass Monocotyledonae. Dahlgren et al. Superorder Liliiflorae; Asparagales. APG III core angiosperms; Superorder Lilianae; non-commelinid Monocot. APG IV Order Asparagales.

Species 4. Genera 1; only genus, Blandfordia.

General remarks. This is the description of Dahlgren and Clifford (1985), augmented from Henderson (1987). According to Rudall et al. (1998), the precise relationships of Blandfordia “remain poorly supported”.

Illustrations. • Blandfordia cunninghamii: Bot. Mag. 94 (1868). • Blandfordia grandiflora (as B. flammea): Bot. Mag. 80 (1854). • Blandfordia grandiflora, as B. aurea: Bot. Mag. 95 (1869). • Blandfordia grandiflora: Bot. Reg. 924, 1825. • Blandfordia grandiflora (as B. flammea var. princeps): Bot. Mag. 102 (1876). • Blandfordia nobilis: Bot. Reg. 286, 1818.

We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, distributions of character states within any set of taxa, geographical distribution, genera included in each family, and classifications (Dahlgren; Dahlgren, Clifford, and Yeo; Cronquist; APG). See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.

Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1992 onwards. The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 8th June 2026. delta-intkey.com’.

Contents