Plants of
South Australia
Gunniopsis quadrifida
Aizoaceae
Sturt's Pigface
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
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Oodnadatta
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Wudinna
Keith
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 2

Prior names

Gunniopsis quadrifaria, orth.var.

Sesuvium quadrifidum

Aizoon quadrifidum

Etymology

Gunniopsis from the genus Gunnia, named after Ronald Campbell Gunn (1808-1881), a Tasmanian botanist and from the Greek 'opsis', meaning resembling, alluding to the resemblance of this genus to the genus Gunnia. Quadrifida from the Latin 'quadri', meaning four and 'fidus', meaning split, referring to the 4-ribbed capsule.

Distribution and status

Found across the northern half of South Australia growing on saline soils, especially on the margins of salt lakes and clay pans. Also found in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. Native. Common in South Australia. Uncommon in Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. Common in Western Australia.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Densely papillose woody perennial to 40 cm high, occasionally to 1 m. Leaves narrow-linear to terete; fleshy, to 30 mm long and 5 mm wide. Flowers solitary, white; terminal or in the forks of the branches, Flowers throughout the year. Fruits are 4-ribbed capsule to 10 mm diameter, ribs keeled, valves becoming bi-fid on opening. Seeds are black reniform seed to 1.5 mm long, covered in round tubercules. Seed embryo type is peripheral.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between January and December. Pick mature capsules when they turn a straw colour and contain hard dark seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for at least a week. Then rub the dried capsules to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
6,100 (10.3 g)
6,100 (10.3 g)
50+7-Dec-2005DJD303
Eyre Peninsula
28-Jul-2006100%-18°C
BGA3,100 (3.05 g)30+18-Aug-2011DEM7284
Lake Eyre
1-Nov-2012100%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.
Germination table:
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