#restiad

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#3705 - Elegia cuspidata - Furball Goldreed

Elegia comes from the Greek word elegos for 'song of lamentation', as in the English word elegy. This may refer to the whispering sound restiads make while they are moving in the breeze. Cuspidata is Latin for pointed and refers to the tips of the floral bracts.

Another Restiad from South Africa, where the Restionaceae are a major part of the fynbos communities. This one is endemic to the Western Cape, growing in acid, sandy soil usually in seasonally wet areas.

Christchurch Botanical Gardens, Aotearoa New Zealand

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#3704 - Elegia capensis - Broom Reed

A restiad from the South African fynbos communities, AKA horsetail restio from its resemblance to the completely unrelated scouring rush or horsetail (Equisetum spp.), or bergbamboes.

It usually reaches 1.5 m high but can be twice that.

Christchurch Botantical Gardens, Aotearoa New Zealand

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#3437 - Lepidobolus sp. - Chaff Rush

A genus of seven species of Restiad, endemic to Australia.

Restiads are a family of herbaceous wind-pollinated plants found across much of the Southern Hemisphere, but they are most diverse in parts of Southern Africa. Some species may be up to 2m tall.

Williams Nature Reserve, Western Australia

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#3343 - Centrolepis aristata - Pointed Centrolepis

First formally described by the botanist Robert Brown in 1817.

A restiad found in the southern parts of the Australian mainland, and more widely in Tasmania.

A tufted annual herb that typically grows to a height of 2 to 20 centimetres, starting out bright green colour and turning reddish after it flowers. It usually grows in winter-wet depressions and among rocky outcrops, and most often in soil over granite.

Sullivan Rock nr. Jarrahdale, WA