Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Ixia polystachya L.

Synonyms

Ixia metelerkampiae L. Bolus (misapplied)
Ixia viridiflora Lam. (misapplied)

Family

Iridaceae

Common Names

African corn lily, African cornlily, corn lily, variable ixia, white-and-yellow-flower cornlily

Origin

Native to southern Africa (i.e. Cape Province in South Africa).

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in southern Australia (i.e. in the coastal districts of central and southern New South Wales, in Victoria, in Tasmania, in south-eastern South Australia and on Kangaroo Island, and in south-western Western Australia.

Also naturalised overseas in south-western USA (i.e. California).

Notes

Variable ixia (Ixia polystachya) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria and Western Australia. It has escaped cultivation and become naturalised in open woodlands, in shaded moist sites, urban bushland, along roadsides, and in disturbed sites and waste areas. Like other corm and bulb producing species, variable ixia (Ixia polystachya) spreads from disturbed areas into nearby natural areas, crowding out the plants which native animals depend for food.

This species appears on local and regional environmental weed lists in Victoria (e.g. in Knox City and Nillumbik Shire) and has been recorded in Yarra Bend Park in suburban Melbourne. Variable ixia (Ixia polystachya) has also spread from old settlements into bushland and marri woodlands between Perth and Albany (including the Darling Ranges), in south-western Western Australia. It is also naturalised in the Sydney region and the Tathra-Bermagui area in New South Wales and has been recorded in several conservation areas in South Australia (i.e. in Belair National Park, Ferguson Conservation Park, Scott Creek Conservation Park and Cleland Conservation Park).