Xanthorrhoea

Xanthorrhoea () is a genus of about 30 species of succulent flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae. They are endemic to Australia. Common names for the plants include grasstree, grass gum-tree (for resin-yielding species), kangaroo tail, balga (Western Australia), yakka (South Australia), yamina (Tasmania, from the palawa kani language), and black boy (or "blackboy"). The most common species is Xanthorrhoea australis, and some of these names are applied specifically to this species.

==Description== thumb|right|The dead "trunk" of Xanthorrhoea is a hollow ring of accumulated leaf bases. Nutrient transport was via vascular bundles that run down the centre. The Ground tissue#Parenchyma|parenchymatous tissue is decomposed. All species in the genus are perennials and have a secondary thickening meristem in the stem. Many, but not all, species develop an above ground stem. The stem may take up to twenty years to emerge. Plants begin as a crown of rigid grass-like leaves, the caudex slowly growing beneath. The main stem or branches continue to develop beneath the crown. This is rough-surfaced, built from accumulated leaf-bases around the secondarily thickened trunk. The trunk is sometimes unbranched, some species will branch if the growing point is damaged, and others naturally grow numerous branches.