Caesia parviflora, the Pale Grass Lily is a common small plant found in many parts of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

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A small plant up to 50 cm tall, found in heath, woodland and dry sclerophyll forest, usually near grasses. Often on sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 based soils. The lily type flower is about 12mm wide and bears three grey or purple stripes on each petal. Flowering occurs in spring and summer.

The original specimen was collected in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, dated 16 October 1803. And in 1810, the species appeared in scientific literature, in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae, authored by the prolific Scottish botanist, Robert Brown

Robert Brown (botanist)

Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...

. The generic name is in honour of Federico Cesi

Federico Cesi

Federico Angelo Cesi was an Italian scientist, naturalist, and founder of the Accademia dei Lincei. On his father's death in 1630, he became briefly lord of Acquasparta.- Biography :...

, a 17th century Italian naturalist. The specific epithet parviflora translates to "small flowered".

At least three sub-species are recognised

• Caesia parviflora var. parviflora, with white floweres
• Caesia parviflora var. vittata, with blue floweres
• Caesia parviflora var. minor is less than 20 cm tall, with blue or white flowers. Considered endangered by extinction.