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dense infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Scientific Name
Hesperantha falcata (L. f.) Ker Gawl.
Synonyms
Ixia falcata L.f.Hesperantha graminifolia Sweet
Family
Iridaceae
Common Names
hesperantha
Origin
Native to southern Africa (i.e. South Africa).
Naturalised Distribution
Naturalised in many parts of south-western Western Australia and sparingly naturalised in south-eastern South Australia.
Notes
Hesperantha (Hesperantha falcata) is regarded as an environmental weed in Western Australia. This species is a common weed of wetlands and damp grassy areas on the Swan Coastal Plain and in the Darling Range near Perth. It can be very abundant in these habitats, but seldom dominates the vegetation.
Hesperantha (Hesperantha falcata) was given a moderately important rating in the Environmental Weed Strategy of Western Australia, because of its ability to invade undisturbed bushland and waterways. It has been recorded in conservation areas around Perth (e.g. in the Brixton Street Wetlands) and is listed as a weed of the critically endangered "shrublands and woodlands on Perth to Gingin ironstone" ecological community. In South Australia, hesperantha (Hesperantha falcata) is an occasional garden escape.