Lomandra decomposita (R.Br.) Jian Wang

2. Lomandra decomposita (R.Br.) Jian Wang View in CoL ter & A.R.Bean

Lomandra decomposita (R.Br.) Jian Wang View in CoL ter & A.R.Bean (2017) 59. — Xerotes decomposita R.Br. (1810) View in CoL 262. — Xerotes multiflora R.Br. var. decomposita (R.Br.) Domin (1915) View in CoL 526. — Lectotype (designated by Wang & Bean 2017): J. Banks & D. Solander s.n. (lecto BRI [AQ49624]; isolecto BM [BM000939335, BM000939336]*, BRI [AQ424984], P [P01843933]*), Australia, Queensland, Cook District, Endeavour River, 1770.

Tufted herbaceous plants, 50–70 cm tall. Stem a short rhizome. Leaves not dehiscing, 50–70 cm long, 2.5–4 mm wide, apex broadly rounded to obtuse without teeth. Staminate inflorescences 1 per tuft of leaves, 50–65 cm long, branches whorled or opposite at nodes, 2–5 cm between the whorls, the lowest whorl 20–30 cm long from the base of the inflorescence, with 6–12 branches; the bracts subtending the branches 2–10 cm long, the branches to 11 cm long; clusters of flowers borne in whorls of 3 toward the apex of the branches, the cluster bracts to 3 mm long. Staminate flowers 2 –4 per cluster, each flower surrounded by 2 bracts; pedicels up to 1 mm long; outer 3 tepals (sepals) c. 1 by 0.7–0.8 mm, the inner 3 tepals (petals) c. 0.8 by 0.5 mm, stamens 6, the filament often connate throughout their length to the inner tepals; anthers all similar, 0.35–0.45 by 0.2–0.3 mm; pistillode poorly formed. Pistillate inflorescences 28–30 cm long; clusters of flowers 1–2.5 cm distant, the cluster bracts to 7.5 mm long. Pistillate flowers 2 – 6 per cluster, each flower surrounded by 2 bracts; the outer 3 tepals (sepals) c. 3.1 by 2.9 mm; the inner 3 tepals (petals) c. 2.5 by 1.5 mm; staminodes 6, whitish transparent, with well-developed filaments and vestigial anthers; ovary obovoid, 1.1–1.3 by 0.7–1 mm diam; style stout, fused, with 3 robust out-curved stigmatic lobes. Fruits with usually one seed only developed, asymmetrical, 6–6.5 by 3.3–4 mm across and c. 5 mm deep with distant transverse wrinkled carpels at maturity, not pointed at the apex. Seeds ovoid or ellipsoid, 5.5–6 by 3.3–4 by 3–3.5 mm, pale brown to brown.

Distribution — Malesia: Papua New Guinea ( Western Province); Australia ( Queensland).

Habitat & Ecology — Lomandra decomposita grows in open woodland. Flowering and fruiting: August.

Specimens examined. AUSTRALIA, J.R. Clarkson 4305 (staminate: BRI), [Australia, Queensland] Coconut Creek, c. 37 km north north east Aurukun; B. Gray 08928 (staminate: BRI, CANB), [Australia, Queensland] Portlands Roads Road, 2 km east Brown Creek; G. Sankowsky 2078 (pistillate: BRI), [Australia, Queensland] Chillii Beach to Cape Weymouth Road.– NEW GUINEA, C.E. Ridsdale NGF 33574 (pistillate:A, BRI, CANB, K, L, LAE), [Papua New Guinea, Western Division] near Weam.

Notes — Stevens (1978) described this species in detail for New Guinea under the name Lomandra multiflora (R.Br.) Britten , which currently includes two subspecies L. multiflora (R.Br.) Britten subsp. multiflora and L. multiflora subsp. dura (F.Muell.) T.D.Macfarl. The former with staminate flower pedicels 3–8 mm long, that has a wide Australian distribution from north Queensland south to Victoria, but it is not present from Cape York Peninsula ( Wang & Bean 2017). The latter, with staminate flowers ± sessile, is restricted to South Australia ( Lee & Macfarlane 1986).

Brown (1810) named Xerotes decomposita R.Br. based on specimens collected by Banks & Solander from Endeavour River, north Queensland in 1770. This species name was regarded as representing part of the variation in X. multiflora by Bentham (1878) and was retained as a synonym by Britten (1905) when he made the combination Lomandra multiflora . Domin (1915), however, reclassified it to a variety, Xerotes multiflora R.Br. var. decomposita , but this was rejected by Lee (1966). It was subsequently included in L. multiflora subsp. multiflora ( Lee & Macfarlane 1986) . A new combination Lomandra decomposita was eventually made in recognising it as a separate species by Wang & Bean (2017), with this name applying to previous records of L. multiflora in Cape York Peninsula, as well as in other locations of northeast Queensland ( Wang & Bean 2017) and southern New Guinea.

It is noticeable that the New Guinea population of Lomandra decomposita has shorter staminate pedicels (up to 1 mm long) than that of the Queensland populations (pedicels usually 1.5– 2.5 mm long), but all other features for the plant in New Guinea are consistent with typical plants from northeast Queensland.