Matted Flax-lily

The Matted Flax-lily (Dianella amoena) is a tufted, mat forming lily which has small blue-violet flowers with orange strumae (swellings at the base of the anthers). Plants flower from October to April and are followed by purple-blue berries. The Matted Flax-lily can reach up to 90cm in height when flowering and can form loose clumps up to 5 metres wide. They prefer Grassland and Grassy Woodland habitats. In Nillumbik it has mainly been recorded in Valley Grassy Forest and Creekline Herb-rich Woodland.

The Matted Flax-lily is mainly associated with the volcanic plains, but is located from the south west, north east and south east of Melbourne. Small populations also occur in Eastern Victoria. The majority of the remaining population are located in fragile areas such as on roadsides, railway lines and private land or on small reserves in urban environments. In Nillumbik, the species is only found in several scattered small populations including the reserves at Eltham South and St Andrews and on roadsides around Doreen and Plenty.

It is listed as endangered under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It is also listed as endangered in Victoria and is threatened under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. The main threats to the Matted Flax-lily include habitat destruction and disturbances, particularly due to development, rabbit and stock grazing, population fragmentation, weed invasion and competition. Fencing of known populations has reduced the impact of grazing and weed control around the vicinity of the plants helps to reduce competition.