Plants of
South Australia
Spergularia brevifolia
Caryophyllaceae
Short-stem Sand-spurrey,
Salt Sand-spurrey
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Prior names

Spergularia rubra var. pinguis

Lepigonium brevifolia

Spergularia sp. Mt Mulyah (C.W.E.Moore 7046)

Spergularia sp. 3

Common names

Short-stem Sand-spurrey

Salt Sand-spurrey

Etymology

Spergularia is derived from the genus Spergula, first used by De l'Obel for Sagina spergula which is now known as Spergula amensis, and probably derived from the Latinisation of Spergel, the German name of this plant or from the Latin 'spargo' meaning sow or scatter; referring to the discharge of seeds. Brevifolia from the Latin 'brevis' meaning short and 'folium' meaning leaf.

Distribution and status

Found mainly in the southern part of South Australia, growing in sandy, clay and loamy soils, on clay and river flats and inland drainage systems of eucalypt woodlands and open shrublands. Also found in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Annual, biennial or short-lived perennial herb with slender to woody, branching rootstock and erect or occasionally decumbent branching from the base. Leaves in sworls, flattened, usually prominently caudate, sometimes obtuse to mucronate, to 20 sometimes up to 40 mm long, and 2 mm wide, at least the upper surface with hairy, rarely all glabrous. Inflorescence covered in sparse to dense hairs with few white to pink or lilac flowers with 5 petals. Fruits are brown narrow-ovoid to subglobose capsule to 6 mm long. Seeds are dark brown to black reniform seeds to 0.7 mm long and 0.6 mm wide, covered with tubercules only along the outer edge. Seed embryo type is peripheral.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Collect capsules that are maturing, fat and turning brown and contain hard dark seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently by hand or with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be very careful as the seeds are very small. Seeds should be hard and brown. 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:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

4,100 (0.25 g)
~5017-May-2006PJA130
Murray
BGA 
MSB
10,400 (0.62 g)
10,400 (0.62 g)
5515-Nov-2007RJB75594
Northern Lofty
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.