Doryanthes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Doryanthes |
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| Doryanthes excelsa | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Doryanthaceae R.Dahlgren & Clifford |
| Genus: | Doryanthes Corrêa |
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Doryanthes is a special group of flowering plants. It is the only genus in the plant family called Doryanthaceae. Think of a genus as a small group of very similar plants. A family is a larger group of plants that are related.
There are only two types of Doryanthes plants. They are D. excelsa, also known as the gymea lily, and D. palmeri, or the giant spear lily. Both of these amazing plants grow naturally only along the coast of Eastern Australia. The Doryanthaceae family belongs to a bigger group of plants called Asparagales. These are often known as the asparagoid lilies.
These plants grow in a special shape called a rosette. This means their leaves spread out in a circle, like a rose. They only start to flower after more than 10 years! Doryanthes plants love warm weather. They also need good soil and lots of water, especially during the hottest parts of the year.
Discovering Doryanthes Plants
The Doryanthes genus was first described in 1802. This was done by a Portuguese man named José Francisco Corrêa da Serra. He was a priest, a statesman, a thinker, and a botanist. A botanist is someone who studies plants. José Francisco Corrêa da Serra was also a close friend of Joseph Banks, another famous botanist.
The D. excelsa, or gymea lily, grows in southern Sydney and the Illawarra region of Australia. This beautiful plant even inspired the name of a local history journal. The journal is called Doryanthes. It was started by a Dharawal historian named Les Bursill.
How Doryanthes Plants are Classified
The Doryanthaceae family is part of the order Asparagales. This order includes many plants that are monocots. Monocots are a type of flowering plant with one seed leaf.
Scientists who classify plants are called taxonomists. They have only recently recognized the Doryanthaceae family as its own group. Before this, the Doryanthes genus was usually placed in a different family. That family was called Agavaceae. Now, Agavaceae is a smaller group within the larger Asparagaceae family.
