Brachyscome diversifolia

flower: Brachyscome diversifolia Scott Creek CP flowers

fruit: Brachyscome diversifolia mature seed head

seed: Brachyscome diversifolia KHB547 seed

seed: Brachyscome diversifolia KHB547 seeds

seed: Brachyscome diversifolia PSA139 seeds

dissected seed: Bracyscome diversifolia PJA188 longitudinal cut3

Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.

Display IBRA region text

Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3.

Etymology

Brachyscome from the Greek 'brachys' meaning short and 'kome' meaning hair, referring to the tuft of short bristles or hairs of the pappus. Diversifolia from the Latin 'diversus' meaning different and 'folium' meaning leaf, referring to the species having different shaped leaves on the same plant.

Distribution and status

Found in a few sites in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia, growing in forest and along gullies. There is an old collection (1934) from the South-east around Lucindale but this population has not been relocated. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Very rare in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, South Eastern
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Erect perennial daisy growing to 50 cm tall with hairy serrated basal leaves. Flowers single large white daisy on a long stalk. Flowering between October and November. Fruits are dried daisy-heads containing numerous seeds. Seeds are rectangular brown seeds to 3.2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, with short hairs at one end. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Collect heads that are drying off and turning brown. The hard brown seeds should dislodge easily. Place the heads in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the heads gently with your hands 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 three collections, the seed viability was average to high, ranging from 55% to 85%. This species has physiological dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

Seeds stored:

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Location	No. of seeds (weight grams)	Number of plants	Date collected	Collection number Collection location	Date stored	% Viability	Storage temperature
BGA MSB	5,500 (1.9 g) 2,411 (0.82 g)	50	16-Nov-2006	PJA138 Southern Lofty	1-Aug-2007	55%	+5°C, -18°C
BGA	2,300 (0.72 g)		1-Nov-2006	RJB70311 Southern Lofty	1-Aug-2007	75%	+5°C, -18°C
BGA	1,300 (0.35 g)	10	24-Nov-2006	PJA139 Southern Lofty	1-Jun-2010	85%	-18°C
BGA	19,800 (9.17 g)		3-Nov-2010	KHB547 Southern Lofty	1-Jan-2012	85%	+5°C, -18°C
BGA	7,025 (1.75 g)		20-Nov-2009	PJA187 Southern Lofty	1-Jan-2012		-18°C
BGA	1,700 (0.76 g)		20-Nov-2008	PJA188 Southern Lofty	1-Jan-2012	90%	-18°C
BGA	660 (0.27 g)		25-Nov-2009	PJA202 Southern Lofty	2-May-2017	100%	-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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Date	Result	T0	T50	Pre-treatment \| Germination medium \| Incubator: Photoperiod / Thermoperiod
Sep-12	92%	7	7	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid; 12/12; / 23Â°C
Jul-10	84%	13	34	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid; Incubated under summer conditions
Jul-10	69%	13	34	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jul-10	66%	13	27	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; Incubated under winter conditions
Jul-10	61%	13	21	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid; Incubated under winter conditions
Jul-10	60%	21	34	1% agar with 10% smoke water; Incubated under winter conditions
Jul-10	56%	27	55	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; Incubated under summer conditions
Jul-10	53%	13	34	1% agar; Incubated under winter conditions
Jul-10	45%	21	NA	1% agar; Incubated under summer conditions
Jul-10	40%	21	NA	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jan-09	38%	14	NA	1% agar; Incubated under winter conditions
Jan-09	29%	28	NA	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid; Incubated under winter conditions
Jul-10	29%	21	NA	1% agar with 10% smoke water; Incubated under summer conditions
Jul-10	26%	13	NA	1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jul-10	13%	21	NA	1% agar with 10% smoke water; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions

Result: Maximum percentage of germination observed.
T0: Number of days before first germinant observed.
T50: Number of days to achieve 50% germination.
Pre-treatment: The initial treatment that the seeds received prior to placement on germination media.
Germination medium: The substrate that seeds were placed on for the duration of the germination experiment.
Incubator conditions:
Photoperiod: The duration of light exposure that the seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Thermoperiod: The constant or diurnal temperatures that seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Winter conditions: 15°C 20 h (3am→11pm); 5°C 4 h (11pm→3am) / 10 h light (8am→6pm); 14 h dark (6pm→8am)
Spring/Autumn conditions: 22°C 12 h (8am→8pm); 10°C 12 h (8pm→8am) / 12 h light (8am→8pm); 12 h dark (8pm→8am)
Summer conditions: 30°C 14 h (6am→8pm); 15°C 10 h (8pm→6am) / 14 h light (6am→8pm); 10 h dark (8pm→6am)

Fleurieu (KAN02)	Kanmantoo	Data Deficient [1 old record, probably regionally extinct]
Mount Lofty Ranges (FLB01)	Flinders Lofty Block	Endangered (IUCN: EN B2ab(i,ii,iii); D) (Probable Decline) [limited habitat; needs high quality soils, grassy woodlands; used in planting; has disappeared from Mt Bold]