Plants of
South Australia
Achnophora tatei
Asteraceae
Kangaroo Island Daisy,
Kangaroo Island River Daisy
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Common names

Kangaroo Island Daisy

Kangaroo Island River Daisy

Etymology

Achnophora from the Greek 'achne' meaning chaff and 'phoros' meaning bearing, referring to the conspicuous scales of the receptacle and of the pappus. Tatei named in honour of Ralph Tate (1840-1901), Professor of Natural Science, Adelaide and collector of the type specimen.

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia and found only on Kangaroo Island, growing on edges of streams and seasonally marshy ground on silty sand with ironstone. Native. Rare in South Australia.
Herbarium region: Kangaroo Island
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Small perennial daisy with long, narrow, rounded basal leaves. Flowers are white to light pink daisies, one on each stalk. Flowering between September and November. Fruits are dried daisy-head. Seeds are brown to reddish-brown, cone-shaped achenes to 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide, covered in short hairs with golden pappus bristles at one end. Seed embryo type is spatulate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and January. Pick maturing daisy-heads by hand, when dried off and turning brown with red-brown seeds inside. Place the heads in a tray and leave to dry for 1-2 weeks. Then rub the heads gently with your hands to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to remove 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. Seed viability is very high for this species. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Fire Response

Only re-sprouting plants observed at 6 survey sites. No seedlings observed but seedlings may be detectable in second year post-fire. 

Longevity: >10 years

Time to flowering: 1 year from re-sprouting plants

Recovery Work

In 2020-2021 this species was assessed post-fire in 1st year after major Jan 2020 fire. A total of 59,200 seeds have been collected & banked for three population in the 2020 fire scar. Germination screening testing the response to fire cues will be undertaken in 2021.This project work was undertaken with funding awarded under Greening Australia's Project Phoenix.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

1,200 (0.24 g)
30+13-Nov-2006DJD655
Kangaroo Island
BGA 
MSB
4,200 (2.18 g)
4,200 (2.18 g)
100+11-Nov-2008DJD1250
Kangaroo Island
20-Jul-200995%-18°C
BGA5,000 (2.13 g)100+11-Aug-2008TST567
Kangaroo Island
20-Jul-2009100%+5°C, -18°C
BGA24,900 (7.920 g)100+13-Jan-2021DJD3986
Kangaroo Island
28-Jun-2021100%-18°C, -80°C
BGA7,100 (2.340 g)50+10-Dec-2020DJD3904
Kangaroo Island
28-Jun-202195%-18°C, -80°C
BGA27,200 (10.420 g)100+10-Dec-2020JRG769
Kangaroo Island
28-Jun-2021100%-18°C, -80°C
BGA7,700 (2.413 g)100+2-Dec-2021DJD4085
Kangaroo Island
7-Jul-2022100%-18°C, -80°C
BGA4,300 (1.540 g)100+2-Dec-2021DJD4084
Kangaroo Island
7-Jul-202295%-18°C
BGA2,000 (0.744 g)1001-Dec-2021JRG769
Kangaroo Island
7-Jul-2022100%-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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