Plants of
South Australia
Tetragonia moorei
Aizoaceae
Warragul Cabbage,
New Zealand Spinach
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Vulnerable
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Prior names

Tetragonia tetragonioides, partly

Common names

Warragul Cabbage

New Zealand Spinach

Etymology

Tetragonia from the Greek 'tetra' meaning four and 'gonia' meaning angle; alluding to the 4-angled fruit of some species. Moorei named after C.W.E. Moore who recognised the distinctiveness of this species and whose ecological studies and abundant collections have enriched the Australian National Herbarium.

Distribution and status

Found in the eastern side of South Australia, growing in a variety of habitats, sand dunes and swales, and on both light and heavy-textured soils from red sands to grey cracking clays, particularly in areas subject to periodic inundation. Also found in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Uncommon in Victoria. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray
NRM regions: Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Succulent annual with slender taproot, erect, prostrate or decumbent with young shoots pubescent. Leaves narrow- to broad-ovate, elliptic or rhombic, to 10 cm long and 5 cm wide, petiolate. Flowers yellow-green, solitary in the axils. Flowering between September and November. Fruits are yellow black ovoid woody fruit with 2 claw-like projections. Seed embryo type is peripheral.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and February. Collect fruits that are maturing, turning black. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for at least a week. No further cleaning is required. 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%. This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

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
1,400 (267.92 g)
1,400 (267.92 g)
100+1-Oct-2007MJT133
Lake Eyre
19-Sep-2008100%-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.