Patersonia rudis
Patersonia rudis, commonly known as hairy flag, is a flowering plant in the iris family that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tufted perennial that spreads by underground rhizomes and has linear to sword-shaped leaves and violet flowers.
Description
- It grows to about 40 cm tall. The rhizome is covered by sticky leaf bases.
- Leaves are 20–70 cm long, narrow or sword-shaped, and softly hairy near the base.
- The flowering stalk is 20–50 cm long and velvety, with a sheath enclosing the flowers.
- The outer petals (tepals) are violet, egg-shaped, about 2.5–3.5 cm long and 2–3 cm wide.
- The tube (hypanthium) is 2–3 cm long and softly hairy.
- Flowers bloom from October to December.
- After flowering, it forms an oval capsule about 2–3 cm long containing black seeds.
Taxonomy and naming
- Patersonia rudis was first described in 1846 by Stephan Endlicher.
- The name rudis means rough or wild.
- In 1986, two subspecies were described:
- Subspecies rudis: found in woodland and forest on the Darling Range and nearby plains (Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain regions).
- Subspecies velutina: found in more arid woodland and shrubland further east near Southern Cross and Coolgardie (Avon Wheatbelt and Coolgardie regions).
- Both subspecies are not considered threatened.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:37 (CET).