Botanical atlas

Spiny-headed Mat Rush

Lomandra longifolia

Long before it was a landscaper's favorite, Lomandra longifolia was a working plant in the hands of Aboriginal Australians, whose communities have used its long, fibrous leaves for countless generations to weave dilly bags, mats, baskets, fishing nets, and eel traps. The leaves were split, softened, and sometimes dyed to make the fiber pliable enough for intricate coiled and twined work, a craft still practiced and taught today. The tender white base of the leaf was chewed for its faint sweetness, almost like a wild celery, and the nectar-rich flowers were sometimes sucked straight from the spike for a small burst of sweetness in the bush. It has always been valued more as a plant of practical survival and craft than as a medicine.

Safety.

Lomandra isn't toxic, but its stiff, sharp leaf tips can cause cuts, so gloves are sensible when harvesting. Only eat the tender leaf base or flowers after certain identification, since look-alike grasses and rushes exist.