Xanthorrhoeaceae

Long, wiry, grass-like leaves radiating in a dense tuft from the top of a slow-growing, often blackened, unbranched woody trunk; tiny flowers pack densely along a tall, spike-like stalk that can rise several metres above the leaf crown, often triggered to flower after fire.

The trunk is built almost entirely from old compacted leaf bases rather than true wood, and growth is extremely slow — some individuals are estimated to be several centuries old for only a few metres of trunk height.

To check whether a plant belongs to Xanthorrhoeaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.