Plants of
South Australia
Sclerolaena fontinalis
Amaranthaceae
Mound Spring Bindyi
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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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Etymology

'Sclerolaena' from the Greek skleros, meaning hard, and chlaina, meaning covering, referring to the hard fruiting perianth covering the seed; fontinalis meaning from fountains or springs and pertains to its habitat near mound springs.

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia, localised near Dalhousie Springs. Rare in South Australia
Herbarium region: Lake Eyre
NRM region: South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Compact rounded shrub to 30 centimetres high with fleshy green leaves, covered with white woolly hairs. Fruits are woody, hairy fruit with 5 spines; attachment basal, circular, 0.5-0.8 mm diam. Seeds are ellipsoid to circular, brown, convex seed Seed embryo type is peripheral

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds from shrubs when they are mature and easily detached. Remove twigs, leaves and other material using a sieve. Leave fruits to dry before storage

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
3,800 (20.28 g)
3,800 (20.28 g)
103-Sep-2015JRG335
Lake Eyre
2-May-201795%+5°C, -18°C, -80°C
BGA27,000 (128.92 g)30+1-Sep-2015JRG322
Lake Eyre
2-May-201765%+5°C, -18°C, -80°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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