Conostylis caricina

Conostylis caricina is a rhizomatous, tufted, grass-like plant or herb that typically grows to 5–20 cm (2.0–7.9 in) high and has short stems. The leaves are flat, 50–300 mm (2.0–11.8 in) long with fibrous margins. The flower stem is 320–500 mm (13–20 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) long. The flowers are 20–120 mm (0.79–4.72 in) long with a head of 6 to 8 flowers with a single, brown, membrane-like bract 5–30 mm (0.20–1.18 in) long. The perianth is creamy yellow, 4–15 mm (0.16–0.59 in) long with wooly hairs on the outside, with claw-like lobes 3–9 mm (0.12–0.35 in) long. The anthers are 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) long and the style 4–10 mm (0.16–0.39 in) long. Flowering occurs from July to September.^[2][3]

Conostylis caricina was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley and the description was published in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.^[4][5] The specific epithet (caricina) means "rush-like".^[6]

In 1987, Stephen Hopper described two subspecies of C. caricina in Flora of Australia, and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

• Conostylis caricina Lindl. subsp. caricina^[7] has leaves 100–300 mm (3.9–11.8 in) long, the perianth 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long.^[8][9]
• Conostylis caricina subsp. elachys Hopper^[10] has leaves 50–100 mm (2.0–3.9 in) long, the perianth 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long.^[11][12]