Lepidosperma longitudinaleCommon name: Pithy Sword-sedge

Meaning of name: Lepidosperma is from the Greek words lepis, meaning scale, and sperma, meaning seed. It refers to the scales surrounding the nut. Longitudinale is from the Latin word longitudinalis, meaning longitudinal. It is referring to the pith of the leaves which is divided by longitudinal dissepiments.

Distribution: Occurs from Watheroo to Albany.

Description: A herb to 2 metres tall. The flowers are borne from May to October.

References: Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings, a Glossary. FA Sharr. 1996.
Flora of the Perth Region. NG Marchant, JR Wheeler, BL Rye, EM Bennett, NS Lander, TD Macfarlane. 1987.
Florabase http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/937.

Why are there no photographs available for this plant?

The main reason why some plants don’t have photographs is because we haven’t found the plant yet. We have had a few flora surveys conducted and they have indicated that this plant can be found in the bush. The problem is that we just don’t know where in the bush to find it. And if we can’t find it, we can’t photograph it.

Another problem we have is that, while we have a name for the plant, we don’t know what it actually looks like. It’s very difficult to find a plant if you’re not sure what you’re looking for.

But rest assured that as soon as we have photographs for this plant we’ll put them on the website.