Register      Login
Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
TURNER REVIEW

Ecology and ecophysiology of grasstrees

Byron B. Lamont A D , Roy Wittkuhn A B and Dylan Korczynskyj A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Environmental Biology, Curtin University, PO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia.

B Department of Conservation and Land Management, Locked Bag 2, Manjimup, WA 6258, Australia.

C School of Science, University of Notre Dame Australia, PO Box 1225, Fremantle, WA 6959, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: b.lamont@curtin.edu.au

Australian Journal of Botany 52(5) 561-582 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT03127
Submitted: 1 August 2003  Accepted: 14 July 2004   Published: 25 October 2004

Abstract

Xanthorrhoea…is in habit one of the most remarkable genera of Terra Australis, and gives a peculiar character to the vegetation of that part of the country where it abounds’ Robert Brown (1814).

Grasstrees (arborescent Xanthorrhoea, Dasypogon, Kingia), with their crown of long narrow leaves and blackened leafbase-covered trunk (caudex), are a characteristic growth form in the Australian flora. Xanthorrhoea is the most widespread genus, with 28 species that are prominent from heathlands to sclerophyll forests. While leaf production for X. preissii reaches a peak in spring–summer, growth never stops even in the cool winter or dry autumn seasons. Summer rain, accompanied by a rapid rise in leaf water potential, may be sufficient to stimulate leaf production, whereas root growth is confined to the usual wet season. Grasstrees are highly flammable yet rarely succumb to fire: while retained dead leaves may reach >1000°C during fire, the temperature 100 mm above the stem apex remains <60°C and the roots are insulated completely. Immediately following fire, leaf production from the intact apical meristem is up to six times greater than that at unburnt sites. For X. preissii, pre-fire biomass is restored within 40 weeks; the mass of live leaves remains uniform from thereon, whereas the mass of dead leaves increases steadily. Leaves usually survive for >2 years.

In X. preissii, the post-fire growth flush corresponds to a reduction in starch storage by desmium in the caudex. Minerals, especially P, are remobilised from the caudex to the crown following a spring fire, but accumulate there following an autumn fire. At least 80% of P is withdrawn from senescing leaves, while >95% K and Na are leached from dead leaves. Most stored N and S are volatilised by fire, with 1–85% of all minerals returned as ash. Despite monthly clipping for 16 months, X. preissii plants recover, although starch reserves are depleted by 90%, indicating considerable resilience to herbivory. Analysis of colour band patterns in the leafbases of X. preissii shows that elongation of the caudex may vary more than 5–50 mm per annum, with 10–20 mm being typical. Exceptionally tall plants (>3 m) may reach an age of 250 years, with a record at 450 years (6 m). Fires, recorded as black bands on the leafbases, in south-western Australia have been decreasing in frequency but increasing in variability since 1750–1850. Some grasstrees have survived a mean fire interval of 3–4 years over the last two centuries. In more recent times, some grasstrees have not been burnt for >50 years. The band-analysis technique has been used to show a downward trend in plant δ13C of 2–5.5‰ from 1935 to the present.

Grasstrees are most likely to flower in the first spring after fire. A single inflorescence is initiated from the apical meristem, elongating at up to 100 mm day–1 and reaching a length up to 3 m, with one recorded at 5.5 m. This rapid rate of elongation is achieved through leaf (and inflorescence) photosynthesis and desmium starch mobilisation. The developing spike and seeds are vulnerable to a moth larva. Leaf production recommences from axillary buds and the trade-off with reproduction is equivalent to 240 leaves in X. preissii. Flowering and seed production are affected by time of fire. Grasstrees are mainly insect-pollinated. Up to 8000 seeds per spike are produced, although pre-dispersal granivory is common. Seeds are released in autumn and persist in the soil for <2 years. Most fresh seeds germinate in the laboratory but germination is inhibited by light. At any time, seedlings and juveniles may account for most plants in the population, although there may be up to an 80% reduction within 1 year of seedling emergence, often due to kangaroo herbivory. In the absence of fire, mortality of adults may be 4% per annum. Although few grasstree species are considered rare or threatened, their conservation requirements, especially in regard to a suitable fire regime, remain unknown. Grasstrees are particularly susceptible to the exotic root pathogen, Phytophthora cinnamomi, although recruitment among some species has been observed 20–30 years after pathogen invasion. Much remains to be known about the biology of this icon of the Australian bush.


Acknowledgments

Our research on grasstrees was supported by the Australian Research Council, Department of Conservation and Land Management (WA) and Curtin University. We thank Neil Burrows for his support, and other eager participants in the project: Dave Ward, Perry Swanborough and Wendy Colangelo. Tom Gordon kindly provided information on the grasstree nursery industry and Adrian Borsboom on animals associated with grasstrees. The Department of Conservation and Land Management, via Rick Sneeuwjagt, met the costs of the colour figures. Dave Bell and anonymous referees made useful comments on the manuscript.


References


Abbott I (2003) Aboriginal fire regimes in south-west Western Australia: evidence from historical documents. ‘Fire in ecosystems of south-west Western Australia: impacts and management’. (Eds I Abbott, N Burrows) pp. 119–146. (Backhuys: Leiden, The Netherlands)

Alexandrov VY (1964) Cytophysiological and cytoecological investigations of heat resistance of plant cells toward the action of high and low temperature. The Quarterly Review of Biology 20, 35–77.
Crossref |
open url image1

Attiwill PM, Guthrie HB, Leuning R (1978) Nutrient cycling in a Eucalyptus obliqua (L’Herit.) forest. I. Litter production and nutrient return. Australian Journal of Botany 26, 79–91. open url image1

Atwell, B , Kriedemann, P ,  and  Turnbull, C (Eds) (1999). ‘Plants in action: adaptation in nature, performance in cultivation.’ (Macmillan Education Australia: Melbourne)

Baird AM (1977) Regeneration after fire in King’s Park, Perth, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 60, 1–22. open url image1

Barker AV (1999) Ammonium accumulation and ethylene evolution by tomato infected root-knot nematode and grown under different regimes of plant nutrition. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 30, 175–182. open url image1

Beadle NCW (1968) Some aspects of the ecology and physiology of Australian xeromorphic plants. Australian Journal of Science 30, 348–355. open url image1

Bedford DJ, Lee AT, Macfarlane TD, Henderson RJF, George AS (1986) Xanthorrhoeaceae. ‘Flora of Australia’. Vol. 46, pp. 88–171. (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra)

Bell DT (1994) Interaction of fire, temperature and light in the germination response of 16 species from the Eucalyptus marginata forest of south-western Western Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 42, 501–509. open url image1

Bell DT, Bellairs SM (1992) Effects of temperature on the germination of selected Australian native species used in rehabilitation of bauxite mining disturbance in Western Australia. Seed Science and Technology 20, 47–55. open url image1

Bell DT, Stephens LJ (1984) Seasonality and phenology of kwongan species. ‘Kwongan: plant life of the sandplain’. (Eds JS Pate, JS Beard) pp. 205–226. (University of Western Australia Press: Perth)

Bell DT, Williams DS (1998) Tolerance of thermal shock in seeds. Australian Journal of Botany 46, 221–233.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bell DT, Vlahos S, Watson LE (1987) Stimulation of seed germination of understorey species of the northern jarrah forest of Western Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 35, 593–599. open url image1

Bell DT, Rokich DP, McChesney CJ, Plummer JA (1995) Effects of temperature, light and gibberellic acid on the germination of seeds of 43 species native to Western Australia. Journal of Vegetation Science 6, 797–806. open url image1

Benwell AS (1998) Post-fire seedling recruitment in coastal heathland in relation to regeneration strategy and habitat. Australian Journal of Botany 46, 75–101.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Birch AJ, Dahl CJ (1974) Some constituents of the resins of Xanthorrhoea preissii, australis and hastile.  Australian Journal of Chemistry 27, 331–344. open url image1

Bolton MP (1986) Community dynamics and productivity in a subtropical wet heathland. PhD Thesis, University of Queensland, Brisbane.

Bowen BJ, Pate JS (1993) The significance of root starch in post-fire shoot recovery of the resprouter Stirlingia latifolia R.Br. (Proteaceae). Annals of Botany 72, 7–16.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Brown R (1814) General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the botany of Terra Australis. ‘A voyage to Terra Australis: undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803, in His Majesty’s ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland schooner, with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise’. (Ed. M Flinders) p. 576. (G. and W. Nichol: London)

Bülow-Olsen A, Just A, Liddle MJ (1982) Growth and flowering history of Xanthorrhoea johnsonii Lee (Liliaceae) in Toohey Forest, Queensland. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 84, 195–207. open url image1

Burdon JJ (1991) Fungal pathogens as selective forces in plant populations and communities. Australian Journal of Ecology 16, 423–432. open url image1

Burrows CL (1998) Grasstrees as bioindicators of the present and historical chemical environment. BSc(Honours) Thesis, Curtin University of Technology, Perth.

Burrows ND, Ward B, Robinson AD (1995) Jarrah forest fire history from stem analysis and anthropological evidence. Australian Forestry 58, 7–16. open url image1

Cahill D, Legge N, Weste G (1989) Cellular and histological changes induced by Phytophthora cinnamomi in a group of plant species ranging from fully susceptible to fully resistant. Cytology and Histology 79, 417–424. open url image1

Chapin FS (1980) The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11, 233–260.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Clarke PJ, Davison EA (2001) Experiments on the mechanism of tree and shrub establishment in temperate grassy woodlands: seedling emergence. Austral Ecology 26, 400–412.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cleland JB (1913) Note on the growth of the flowering stem of Xanthorrhoea hastilis R.Br. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 47, 72–74. open url image1

Clifford HT (1983) Xanthorrhoeaceae. ‘Flowering plants in Australia’. (Eds BD Morley, HR Toelken) pp. 329–331. (Rigby: Adelaide)

Colangelo WI, Lamont BB, Jones AS, Ward DJ, Bombardieri S (2002) The anatomy and chemistry of the colour bands of grasstree stems (Xanthorrhoea preissii) as a basis for plant age and fire history determination. Annals of Botany 89, 605–612.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Common, IFB (1990). ‘Moths of Australia.’ (Melbourne University Press: Melbourne)

Crombie DS (1992) Root depth, leaf area and daytime water relations of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest overstorey and understorey during summer drought. Australian Journal of Botany 40, 113–122. open url image1

Crombie DS, Tippet JT, Hill TC (1988) Dawn water potential and root depth of trees and understorey species in south-western Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 36, 621–631. open url image1

Cruz A, Moreno JM (2001) Seasonal course of total non-structural carbohydrates in the lignotuberous Mediterranean-type shrub Erica australis.  Oecologia 128, 343–350.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Curtis NP (1996) Germination and seedling survival studies of Xanthorrhoea australis in the Warby Range State Park, north-eastern Victoria, Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 44, 635–647. open url image1

Curtis NP (1998) A post-fire ecological study of Xanthorrhoea australis following prescribed burning in the Warby Range State Park north-eastern Victoria Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 46, 253–272.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Dawson P, Weste G, Ashton D (1985) Regeneration of vegetation in the Brisbane Ranges after fire and infestation by Phytophthora cinnamomi.  Australian Journal of Botany 33, 15–26. open url image1

Dodd J, Heddle EM, Pate JS, Dixon KW (1984) Rooting patterns of sandplain plants and their functional significance. ‘Kwongan: plant life of the sandplain’. (Eds JS Pate, JS Beard) pp. 146–177. (University of Western Australia Press: Perth)

Dodson JR, Kershaw AP (1995) Evolution and history of Mediterranean types in Australia. ‘Ecology and biogeography of Mediterranean ecosystems in Chile, California and Australia’. (Eds MT KalinArroyo, PH Zedler, MD Fox) pp. 21–40. (Springer-Verlag: New York)

Dolva JM, Scott JK (1982) The association between the mealybug, Pseudococcus macrozamiae, ants and the cycad Macrozamia riedlei in a fire-prone environment. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 65, 33–36. open url image1

Duewell H (1997) Chemotaxonomy of the genus Xanthorrhoea.  Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 25, 717–738.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Duncan MJ, Keane PJ (1996) Vegetation changes associated with Phytophthora cinnamomi and its decline under Xanthorrhoea australis in Kingslake National Park, Victoria. Australian Journal of Botany 44, 355–369. open url image1

Edmonds SJ, Specht MM (1981) Dark Island heathland, South Australia: faunal rhythms. ‘Heathlands and related shrublands’. (Ed. RL Specht) pp. 15–27. (Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company: Amsterdam)

El-Kassaby YA, Barclay HJ (1992) Cost of reproduction in Douglas-fir. Canadian Journal of Botany 70, 1429–1432. open url image1

Fahn, A (1990). ‘Plant anatomy.’ (Pergamon Press: Oxford)

Flannery, TF (1994). ‘The future eaters—an ecological history of the Australasian lands and people.’ (Reed Books: Sydney)

Fleck I, Diaz C, Pascual M, Iñiguez FJ (1995) Ecophysiological differences between first-year resprouts after wildfire and unburned vegetation of Arbutus unedo and Coriaria myrtifolia.  Acta Oecologica 16, 55–69. open url image1

Fletcher MJ, Moir ML (2002) Cryptobarsac rubriops, a new genus and species of selizine Flatidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) from grasstree (Xanthorrhoea preissii) in south Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 21, 221–225. open url image1

Foulds W (1993) Nutrient concentrations of foliage and soil in south-western Australia (and Appendix). New Phytologist 125, 529–546. open url image1

Friend T, Anthony C, Thomas N (2001) Geology and landforms of the south-west. Landscope 17, 10–16. open url image1

Gill AM (1964) Soil–vegetation relationships near Kinglake West, Victoria. MSc Thesis, University of Melbourne.

Gill AM (1981) Adaptive responses of Australian vascular plant species to fires. ‘Fire and the Australian biota’. (Eds AM Gill, RH Groves, IR Noble) pp. 243–272. (Australian Academy of Science: Canberra)

Gill AM (1993) Interplay of Victoria’s flora with fire.‘Flora of Victoria. ‘Flora of Victoria. Introduction’. (Eds DB Foreman, NG Walsh, IR Noble) pp. 212–226. (Inkata Press: Melbourne)

Gill AM, Ingwersen F (1976) Growth of Xanthorrhoea australis R.Br. in relation to fire. Journal of Applied Ecology 13, 195–203. open url image1

Grove TS, O’Connell AM, Malajczuk N (1980) Effects of fire on the growth, nutrient content and rate of nitrogen fixation of the cycad Macrozamia riedlei.  Australian Journal of Botany 28, 271–281. open url image1

Halford DA, Bell DT, Loneragan WA (1984) Diet of the western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus Desm.) in a mixed pasture-woodland habitat of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 66, 119–128. open url image1

Hallam, SJ (1975). ‘Fire and hearth.’ (Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies: Canberra)

Hare RC (1961) Heat effects on living plants. USDA Forest Service Southern Forest Experiment Station Occasional Paper No.183.

He T, Krauss S, Lamont BB, Miller BP, Enright NJ (2004) Long distance seed dispersal in a metapopulation of Banksia hookeriana inferred from a population allocation analysis of AFLP data. Journal of Molecular Ecology 13, 1099–1109.
Crossref |
open url image1

Hopper SD, Harvey MS, Chappill JA, Main AR, Main BY (1996) The Western Australian biota as Gondwanan heritage—a review. ‘Gondwanan Heritage: past, present and future of the Western Australian biota’. (Eds SD Hopper, JA Chappill, MS Harvey, AS George) pp. 1–46. (Surrey Beatty and Sons: Sydney)

Horvitz CC, Schemske DW (1988) Demographic cost of reproduction in a neotropical herb: an experimental field study. Ecology 69, 1741–1745. open url image1

Houston TF (2000) Native bees on wildflowers in Western Australia. Special Publication No. 2. Western Australian Insect Study Society, Perth.

Huddle JA, Pallardy SG (1999) Effect of fire on survival and growth of Acer rubrum and Quercus seedlings. Forest Ecology and Management 118, 49–56.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Jeffrey, DW (1987). ‘Soil–plant relationships: an ecological approach.’ (Croom Helm: London)

Karlsson PS, Olsson L, Hellstrom K (1996) Trade-offs among investments in different seedling-shoot functions—variation among mountain birch individuals. Journal of Ecology 84, 915–921. open url image1

Katyal, JC ,  and  Randhawa, NS (1983). ‘Micronutrients.’ (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome)

Klinkhamer PGL, Meelis E, de Jong TJ, Weiner J (1992) On the analysis of size-dependent reproductive output in plants. Functional Ecology 6, 308–316. open url image1

Koch JM, Bell DT (1980) Leaf scorch in Xanthorrhoea gracilis as an index of fire intensity. Journal of Australian Forest Research 10, 113–119. open url image1

Koch JM, Richardson R, Lamont BB (2004) Grazing by kangaroos limits the establishment of the grasstrees Xanthorrhoea gracilis and X. preissii in restored bauxite mines in eucalypt forest of southwestern Australia. Restoration Ecology 12, 297–305.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Korczynskyj D (2002) Phenology and growth of the grasstree Xanthorrhoea preissii in relation to fire and season. PhD Thesis, Curtin University of Technology, Perth.

Korczynskyj D, Lamont BB (in press) Grasstree (Xanthorrhoea preissii) leaf growth in relation to season and water availability. Austral Ecology in press , open url image1

Laidlaw WS, Wilson BA (1996) the home range and habitat utilisation of Cercartetus nanus (Marsupialias: Burramyidae) in coastal heathland, Anglesea, Victoria. Australian Mammalogy 19, 63–68. open url image1

Laidlaw WS, Wilson BA (2003) floristic and structural characteristics of a coastal heathland exhibiting symptoms of Phytopthora cinnamomi infestation in the eastern Otway Ranges, Victoria. Australian Journal of Botany 51, 283–293.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Lamont BB (1976) The effects of seasonality and waterlogging on the root systems of a number of Hakea species. Australian Journal of Botany 24, 691–702. open url image1

Lamont BB (1981) Morphometrics of the aerial roots of Kingia australis (Liliales). Australian Journal of Botany 29, 81–96. open url image1

Lamont BB (1995) Mineral nutrient relations in mediterranean regions of California, Chile, and Australia. ‘Ecology and biogeography of Mediterranean ecosystems in Chile, California and Australia’. (Eds MT KalinArroyo, PH Zedler, MD Fox, AS George) pp. 211–235. (Springer-Verlag: New York)

Lamont BB, Bergl SM (1991) Water relations, shoot and root architecture, and phenology of three co-occuring Banksia species: no evidence for niche differentiation in the pattern of water use. Oikos 60, 291–298. open url image1

Lamont BB, Downes S (1979) The longevity, flowering and fire history of the grasstrees, Xanthorrhoea preissii and Kingia australis.  Journal of Applied Ecology 16, 893–899. open url image1

Lamont BB, Swanborough PW, Ward D (2000) Plant size and season of burn affect flowering and fruiting of the grasstree Xanthorrhoea preissii.  Austral Ecology 25, 268–272.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Lamont BB, Ward DF, Eldridge J, Korczynskyj D, Colangelo WI, Fordham C, Clements E, Wittkuhn R (2003) Believing the Balga: a new method for gauging the fire history of vegetation using grasstrees. ‘Fire in ecosystems of south-west Western Australia: impacts and management’. (Eds I Abbott, N Burrows, MD Fox, AS George) pp. 146–169. (Backhuys: Leiden, The Netherlands)

Lee AT (1966) Notes on Xanthorrhoea in Eastern Australia. Contributions from the New South Wales National Herbarium 4, 35–54. open url image1

Long JL (1984) The diets of three species of parrots in the South of Western Australia. Australian Wildlife Research 11, 357–371. open url image1

Lortie CJ, Aarssen LW (1999) The advantage of being tall: higher flowers receive more pollen in Verbascum thapsus L. (Scrophulariaceae). Ecoscience 6, 68–71. open url image1

Martin ARH (1966) The plant ecology of the Grahamstown Nature Reserve: II. Some effects of burning. Journal of South African Botany 32, 1–39. open url image1

McArthur AG (1968) The fire resistance of eucalypts. Proceedings of the Ecological Society of Australia 3, 83–90. open url image1

McNee, SA (1997). ‘Damage to (blackboy) by the Port Lincoln ringneck in the south-west of Western Australia.’ (Land Conservation District Committee: Boyup Brook)

McPherson K, Williams K (1998) Fire resistance of cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto) in the southeastern USA. Forest Ecology and Management 109, 197–207.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Méndez M, Obeso JR (1993) Size-dependent reproductive and vegetative allocation in Arum italicum (Araceae). Canadian Journal of Botany 71, 309–314. open url image1

Mohr, H ,  and  Schopfer, P (1995). ‘Plant physiology.’ (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)

Monks CD (1966) On the ecological significance of evergreenness. Ecology 47, 504–505. open url image1

Mooney HA (1983) Carbon-gaining capacity and allocation patterns of Mediterranean-climate plants. ‘Mediterranean-type ecosystems. The role of nutrients’. (Eds FJ Kruger, DT Mitchell, JUM Jarvis, AS George) pp. 103–119. (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)

Negrón-Ortiz V, Gorchov DL (2000) Effects of fire season and postfire herbivory on the cycad Zamia pumila (Zamiaceae) in slash pine savanna, Everglades National Park, Florida. International Journal of Plant Sciences 161, 659–669.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Newell GR (1998) Characterization of vegetation in an Australian open forest community affected by cinnamon fungus (Phytophthora cinnamomi): implications for faunal habitat quality. Plant Ecology 137, 55–70.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Obeso JR (1997) Costs of reproduction in Ilex aquifolium: effects at tree, branch and leaf levels. Journal of Ecology 85, 159–166. open url image1

O’Connell AM, Grove TS, Dimmock GM (1978) Nutrients in the litter on jarrah forest soils. Australian Journal of Ecology 3, 253–260. open url image1

Paczkowska, G ,  and  Chapman, AR (2000). ‘The Western Australian flora: a descriptive catalogue.’ (Wildflower Society of Western Australia: Perth)

Pate JS, Canny MJ (1999) Quantification of vessel embolisms by direct observation: a comparison of two methods. New Phytologist 141, 33–44.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Pate JS, Dell B (1984) Economy of mineral nutrients in sandplain species. ‘Kwongan: plant life of the sandplain’. (Eds JS Pate, JS Beard, JUM Jarvis, AS George) pp. 227–252. (University of Western Australia Press: Perth)

Pompe A, Vines RG (1966) The influence of moisture on the combustion of leaves. Australian Forestry 30, 231–241. open url image1

Qin TK, Gullan PJ (1990) the Australian mealybugs (homoptera: Pseudococcidae) of Xanthorrhoea (Xanthorrhoeaceae). Invertebrate Taxonomy 3, 759–769. open url image1

Raison RJ, Khanna PK, Woods PV (1985) Mechanisms of element transfer to the atmosphere during vegetation fires. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 15, 132–140. open url image1

Rhizopoulou S, Davies WJ (1991) Influence of soil drying on root development, water relations and leaf growth of Ceratonia siliqua L. Oecologia 88, 41–47.
Crossref |
open url image1

Rudall P, Chase MW (1996) Systematics of Xanthorrhoeaceae sensu lato: evidence of polyphyly. Telopea 6, 629–647. open url image1

Rundel PW (1981) Fire as an ecological factor. ‘Physiological plant ecology I: responses to the physical environment’. (Eds OL Lange, PS Nobel, CB Olson, H Ziegler) pp. 501–538. (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)

Rundel PW (1982) Water uptake by organs other than roots. ‘Physiological plant ecology II: water relations and carbon assimilation’. (Eds OL Lange, PS Nobel, CB Osmond, H Ziegler) pp. 111–134. (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)

Samson DA, Werk KS (1986) Size-dependent effects in the analysis of reproductive effort in plants. American Naturalist 127, 667–680.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Shearer BL (1994) The major plant pathogens occurring in native ecosystems of southwestern Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 77, 113–123. open url image1

Shearer BL, Dillon M (1995) Susceptibility of plant species in Eucalyptus marginata forest to infection by Phytophthora cinnamomi.  Australian Journal of Botany 43, 113–134. open url image1

Shivas RG, Bathgate J, Podger FD (1998) Colletotrichum xanthorrhoeae sp. nov. on Xanthorrhoea in Western Australia. Mycological Research 102, 280–282.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Silvertown J, Dodd M (1999) The demographic cost of reproduction and its consequences in balsam fir (Abies balsamea). American Naturalist 29, 321–332.
Crossref |
open url image1

Smith JMB (1986) Biogeography of Australian flora and fauna. ‘A natural legacy: ecology in Australia’. (Eds HF Recher, D Lunney, I Dunn, H Ziegler) pp. 14–30. (Pergamon Press: Sydney)

Specht RL (1957) Dark Island heath (Ninety-Mile Plain, South Australia). V. The water relationships in heath vegetation and pastures on the Makin sand. Australian Journal of Botany 5, 151–172. open url image1

Specht RL (1981) The water relations of heathlands: morphological adaptations to drought. ‘Heathlands and related shrublands’. (Ed. RL Specht) pp. 123–129. (Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company: Amsterdam)

Specht RL (1981b) Nutrient release from decomposing leaf litter of Banksia ornata, Dark Island heathland, South Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 6, 59–63. open url image1

Specht, RL (1988). ‘Mediterranean-type ecosystems: a data source book.’ (Kluwer Academic: Dordrecht)

Specht RL, Dettmann ME (1995) Palaeo-ecology of Australia and current physiological functioning of plant communities. ‘Time scales of biological responses to water constraints’. (Eds J Roy, J Aronson, F diCastri, H Ziegler) pp. 201–214. (SPB Academic Publishing: Amsterdam)

Specht RL, Rayson P (1957) Dark Island heath (Ninety-Mile Plain, South Australia). I. Definition of the ecosystem. Australian Journal of Botany 5, 52–75. open url image1

Specht RL, Specht A (1995) Global warming: predicted effects on structure and species richness of Mediterranean ecosystems in southern Australia. ‘Time scales of biological responses to water constraints’. (Eds J Roy, J Aronson, F diCastri, H Ziegler) pp. 215–237. (SPB Academic Publishing: Amsterdam)

Specht, RL ,  and  Specht, A (1999). ‘Australian plant communities: dynamics of structure, growth and biodiversity.’ (Oxford University Press: Melbourne)

Specht RL, Rayson P, Jackman ME (1958) Dark Island heath (Ninety-Mile Plain, South Australia). VI. Pyric succession: changes in composition, coverage, dry weight, and mineral nutrient status. Australian Journal of Botany 6, 59–88. open url image1

Specht RL, Rogers RW, Hopkins AJM (1981) Seasonal growth and flowering rhythms: Australian heathlands. ‘Heathlands and related shrublands’. (Ed. RL Specht) pp. 5–13. (Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company: Amsterdam)

Staff IA (1968) A study of the apex and growth patterns in the shoot of Xanthorrhoea media R.Br. Phytomorphology 18, 153–165. open url image1

Staff IA (1970) Regeneration in shoots of Xanthorrhoea australis after injury. Phytomorphology 20, 6–8. open url image1

Staff IA (1975) The fruits and seed productivity in Xanthorrhoea.  Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 100, 95–102. open url image1

Staff IA (1976) Rapid growth rates in inflorescences of Xanthorrhoea australis R.Br. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 88, 109–114. open url image1

Staff IA (1989) Xanthorrhoea. ‘CRC handbook of flowering’. (Ed. AH Halevy) pp. 681–695. (CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL)

Staff IA, Waterhouse JT (1981) The biology of arborescent monocotyledons, with special reference to Australian species. ‘The biology of Australian plants’. (Eds JS Pate, AJ McComb, F diCastri, H Ziegler) pp. 216–257. (University of Western Australia Press: Perth)

Swanborough PW, Lamont BB, February EC (2003) δ13C and water-use efficiency in Australian grasstrees and South African conifers over the last century. Oecologia 136, 205–212.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Taylor JE, Monamy V, Fox BJ (1998) Flowering of Xanthorrhoea fulva: the effect of fire and clipping. Australian Journal of Botany 46, 241–251.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Tomlinson PB, Zimmermann MH (1969) Vascular anatomy of monocotyledons with secondary growth—an introduction. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 50, 159–179. open url image1

Trabaud L, De Chanterac B (1985) The influence of fire on the phenological behaviour of Mediterranean plant species in Bas-Languedoc (southern France). Vegetatio 60, 119–130. open url image1

Tukey HB (1970) The leaching of substances from plants. Annual Review of Plant Physiology 21, 305–324.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Tynan KM, Wilinson CJ, Holmes JM, Dell B, Colquhooun IJ, McComb JA, Hardey GES (2001) The long-term ability of phosphite to control Phytophthora cinnamomi in two native plant communities of Western Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 49, 761–770.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (2003). ‘Advisory list of rare and endangered plants in Victoria—2003.’ (Department of Sustainability and Environment: Melbourne)

Walter, KS ,  and  Gillett, HJ (Eds) (1998). ‘1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants.’ (World Conservation Monitoring Centre, IUCN, World Conservation Union: Gland, Switzerland)

Ward D (2000) Trouble in the tuart: a brief fire history. Report to Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth. Curtin University, Perth.

Ward D (2001) The past and future of fire in John Forrest National Park Western Australia. Report to Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth. Curtin University, Perth.

Ward D, Lamont BB (2000) Probability of grasstrees (Xanthorrhoea preissii) flowering after fire. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 83, 13–16. open url image1

Ward D, Van Didden G (2003a) A brief fire history of Monadnocks Conservation Park Western Australia. Report to Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth. Curtin University, Perth.

Ward D, Van Didden G (2003b) A partial fire history of the Coolgardie district of Western Australia based on grasstree stem data. Report to Department of Conservation and Land Management. Curtin University, Perth.

Ward DJ, Lamont BB, Burrows CL (2001) Grasstrees reveal contrasting fire regimes in eucalypt forest before and after European settlement of southwestern Australia. Forest Ecology and Management 150, 323–329.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Weste B, Ashton DH (1994) Regeneration and survival of indigenous dry sclerophyll species in the Brisbane Ranges, Victoria, after a Phytophthora cinnamomi invasion epidemic. Australian Journal of Botany 42, 239–253. open url image1

Whelan RJ (1986) Seed dispersal in relation to fire. ‘Seed dispersal’. (Ed. DR Murray) pp. 237–271. (Academic Press: Sydney)

Whelan RJ, Langedyk W, Pashby AS (1980) The effects of wildfire on arthropod populations in jarrah–Banksia woodland. Western Australian Naturalist 14, 214–220. open url image1

Wittkuhn RS (2002) Nutrient dynamics of the grasstree Xanthorrhoea preissii. PhD Thesis, Curtin University of Technology, Perth.

Wills RT (1993) The ecological impact of Phytophthora cinnamomi in the Stirling Range National Park, Western Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 18, 145–159. open url image1

Wright HA (1970) A method to determine heat-caused mortality in bunchgrasses. Ecology 51, 582–587. open url image1

Zammit C (1988) Dynamics of resprouting in the lignotuberous shrub Banksia oblongifolia.  Australian Journal of Ecology 13, 311–320. open url image1