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Cundeelee Grass Tree

Xanthorrhoea thorntonii

Also called Desert Grass Tree, Yacka, Cundeelee Blackboy, Cundeelee Grasstree, Desert Grasstree, Grasstree

Cundeelee Grass Tree
Photo: Mark Marathon, CC BY-SA 4.0

Cundeelee grass tree is a slow-growing, long-lived desert species of the genus Xanthorrhoea, native to arid central Australia. It is grown mainly as a specimen plant in dry, sandy, full-sun gardens.

Family
Asphodelaceae (Aloe family)
Grows as
Tree, Grass
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out fully between waterings.
Soil
Free-draining sandy or gritty mix.
Temperature
Tolerates hot summers and cool winters; protect from prolonged frost.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
W. & C. Australia
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

Xanthorrhoea thorntonii, commonly known as Cundeelee grasstree, Cundeelee blackboy, desert grasstree, yacka or grasstree, is a species of grasstree of the genus Xanthorrhoea native to central Australia. It is known to the Pitjantjatjara people as kata-kultu, kata-puru, ulpa or urara, the Warlpiri people as yurlurnkuru and the Arrernte as lunkere. X. thorntonii is the only grass tree found in Central Australia including the Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert and MacDonnell Ranges.

Where it grows

It has a scattered distribution in the arid central parts of Western Australia in the Pilbara, Mid West and Goldfields-Esperance regions where it grows in sandy soils. It is also commonly found in the north west of South Australia and the south of the Northern Territory to the south west of Alice Springs. Found on and between sand dunes and on sandy plains as part of Triodia dominated ecosystems.

Other Xanthorrhoea plants

Xanthorrhoea acanthostachya · Xanthorrhoea acaulis · Broad Leafed Grasstree · Xanthorrhoea arenaria · Austral Grass Tree · Xanthorrhoea bracteata · Xanthorrhoea brevistyla · Xanthorrhoea brunonis · Sand Heath Grasstree · Xanthorrhoea concava · Drummond's Balga · Swamp Grasstree

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Xanthorrhoea thorntonii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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