Citation: Lam. ex A.L. Juss., Gen. Pl. 41 (1789).

Derivation: Diminutive of Diana, the goddess of hunting.

Synonymy: Not Applicable

Common name: Flax-lilies.

Description:
Perennials, with rigid stems and long distichous mostly basal leaves, with long sheaths; rootstock with fibrous roots, often fleshy outside and sometimes tuberous.

Flowers pedicellate, paniculate; perianth blue, persistent, of 6 free segments, each with 3-7 parallel nerves; stamens 6, filaments thickened near the anthers which are latrorse and opening extrorsely in terminal pores which often continue downward as slits; ovary 3-celled, with 2-12 ovules in each cell; style slender with a capitate stigma.

Fruit a globular or oblong bluish berry; seeds black, shining.

Distribution:  20-30 species from Asia and Australia to Polynesia and Hawaii.

Biology: No text

Key to Species:

1. Anthers light-yellow; leaf blade flat; leaf dorsi-ventral throughout its length	D. longifolia 1.
1. Anthers nearly black; leaf blade with revolute margins, more or less isobilateral at the junction with the sheath	D. revoluta 2.

Author: Revised by R. J. F. Henderson