Blandfordia is a genus of flowering plants, placed in the family Blandfordiaceae of the order Asparagales of the monocots. The genus is native to eastern Australia. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as Christmas bells due to the shape of their flowers and the timing of their flowering season in Australia. Blandfordia was named by English botanist James Edward Smith in 1804 in honour of George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough, the Marquis of Blandford. Blandfordia is the sole genus in the family Blandfordiaceae. Such a family has only recently been recognized by taxonomists. The APG IV system of 2016 (unchanged from the 1998, 2003 and 2009 versions) recognizes this family. Previously various families were suggested. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blandfordia
Schoenia filifolia subsp. subulifolia is an annual herb growing to 0.5 m, with terete leaves. Flowers are yellow and the flowering period is from September to October. The species grows in pale yellow-grey-brown clay in swampy flats, tops of breakaways and crabholes (Western Australian Herbarium 2005). The taxon is endemic to Western Australia where it is currently known from three subpopulations in the Mingenew area approximately 110 km south-east of Geraldton in the Northern Agricultural NRM Region. Old records also show it as having once occurred at Walkaway and Champion Bay near Geraldton, Western Australia (WA CALM 2006). The extent of occurrence is estimated to be approximately 35 km². The area was calculated by drawing a boundary around all the known subpopulations to create a polygon. The computer program Acrview GIS and a dataset taken from CALM's Threatened Flora Database (which contains a single GPS coordinate for each subpopulation) was used to determine the area of the polygon (WA CALM 2006). There is some evidence of a historical decline in extent of occurence, as this taxon was reportedly widepsread in the past, with Herbarium records from 1962 locating it near Geraldton. It is quite likely that other small subpopulations exist in isolated patches of remnant vegetation on private properties. However, there is no information to support a wider actual extent of occcurrence other than it was once widespread in the past. It was suggested that because the known subpopulations are restricted to swampy areas unsuitable for cropping, few patches of suitable habitat might still exist in an area that has been extensively cleared. However, being on private property, these areas are difficult to access (WA CALM 2006). There is insufficient data to calculate the actual area of occupancy. The area of only two subpopulations have been recorded. For the two subpopulations where area of occupancy was recorded, the total area recorded was 850 m². Based on extrapolations of this information, the area of occupancy for the three subpopulations is estimated to be less than 0.002 km² (WA CALM 2006). The taxon is known from three extant subpopulations in the Mingenew area south-east of Geraldton. The taxon's distribution is considered to be fragmented as the known subpopulations are small and isolated to patches of remnant vegetation on private properties, within an area extensively cleared for agriculture (WA CALM 2006).
