Alice Springs Flora •
Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Apple Bush Bougainvillea Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander
Australian Bluebell, also known as Tufted Bluebell and Native Bluebell (Wahlenbergia gracilis), belong to the Bluebell family Campanulaceae. The Australian bluebell belongs to the genus Wahlenbergia, that includes both annuals and perennials.
With several species in Central Australia / Northern Territory, the bluebells are distinguished by the leaves (lower leaves being alternate or opposite), the size and shape of the flower petals, and the shape of the seed pod. Similar species also found in Alice Springs and Central Australia include Wahlenbergia queenslandica.
The main leaves are found at the base of the plant, whilst the flowers appear on erect stems, that can also be branched. The bell shaped flower has 5 petals. The stamens are free and the style can be 2, 3 or 5 branches.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Charophyta
- Class: Equisetopsida
- Subclass: Magnoliidae
- Superorder: Asteranae
- Order: Asterales
- Family: Campanulaceae
- Genus: Wahlenbergia
- Species: W. gracilis
- Binomial name: Wahlenbergia gracilis
Footnote & References
- Wahlenbergia gracilis, Greening Australia, https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/FACT-SHEET_Wahlenbergia_gracilis.pdf
- Wahlenbergia queenslandica, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahlenbergia_queenslandica (last visited July 24, 2022)
Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Apple Bush Bougainvillea Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander
Alice Springs FaunaAlice Springs Native Bees Alice Springs Beetles Alice Springs Birds Alice Springs Gastropods (Gastropoda) Alice Springs Insects Alice Springs Marsupials Alice Springs Reptiles Alice Springs Spiders