Patersonia babianoides
Patersonia babianoides is a species of plant in the iris family Iridaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tufted, rhizome-forming herb with soft, linear to elliptic leaves and blue-violet tepals on a relatively short flowering scape.
Description
Patersonia babianoides is a tufted, rhizome-forming herb that typically grows to a height of and annually forms corm-like segments. Each segment usually only has a single linear to elliptic leaf long and wide on a petiole long, and covered with soft hairs long. The flowering scape is long with the sheath enclosing the flowers narrow triangular to lance-shaped, prominently veined, green, hairy and long. The outer tepals are blue-purple, long and wide, and the hypanthium tube is long and glabrous. Flowering mainly occurs from September to November.
Patersonia babianoides was first described in 1873 by George Bentham in Flora Australiensis, from specimens collected by James Drummond in the Swan River Colony. The specific epithet means "Babiana-like".
This patersonia is common in the Darling Range, mostly between the Helena Valley and Collie where it grows in jarrah forest in the Jarrah Forest and Warren biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.
Conservation status
Patersonia babianoides is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.