Calectasia narragara
Calectasia narragara, commonly known as a blue tinsel lily or star of Bethlehem, is a plant in the family Dasypogonaceae growing as a tufted rhizomatous herb. It is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia and common in most of its range.
Description
Calectasia narragara is an undershrub without stilt roots but with a short rhizome from which it can form clones. The roots are clustered, wiry and sand-binding. It grows to a height of about with many very short side branches. Each leaf blade is glabrous except sometimes at the margins, long, wide tapering to a short, sharp point on the end. The base of the petals form a tube long, which, unlike most others in the genus, is glabrous. The outer part of the petals is blue with bronze margins and spread outwards to form a papery, star-like pattern that fades to white with age. In the centre of the star are six yellow stamens forming a tube that turns orange-red with age. The thin style sometimes extends beyond the stamens. It is similar to the other species of Calectasia and is distinguished from them by a combination of the presence of a short, compact rhizome, lack of stilt leaves, the glabrousness of the leaf blades and the change in colour of the petals and stamens with age. Flowers mostly appear from June to September.Taxonomy and naming
Calectasia narragara is one of eleven species in the genus Calectasia. It was described as a new species in 2001 by R.L. Barrett and K.W. Dixon from a specimen collected in Kings Park, near the nature trail, 0.5 km west of the Roe Memorial.The specific epithet is a composite Nyoongar name for a star, chosen for the common name of "Star of Bethlehem" which has often been applied to this species.