Plants of
South Australia
Cotula vulgaris var. australasica
Asteraceae
Slender Cotula
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
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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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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Cotula filifolia

Etymology

Cotula from the Medieval Latin 'cotula', which is from the Greek 'kotyle' meaning a small cup; referring to the shape of the involucre. Vulgaris from the Latin 'vulgare' meaning Vulgaris from Latin meaning common or ordinary. Australasica means of or from Australasia, alluding to the variety distribution in the southern hemisphere.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern part of South Australia from the Eyre Peninsula to the lower South-east, growing on damp saline areas in coastal saltmarshes and salt lake. Also found in Victoria and Tasmania (and New Zealand). Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in Tasmania. Common in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Erect or ascending annual herb to 20 cm high with stems sparsely branched, glabrous. Leaves narrow-linear to filiform, to 4 cm long and 1 mm wide, sheathing at base, entire, glabrous except for hairs on base. Flower heads to 5 mm diameter, terminal and axillary with yellow rayless daisy flower. Flowering between August and November. Fruits are dense orange brown head. Seeds are brown ovoid. Seed embryo type is spatulate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and January. Collect heads that are drying off and turning brown, mature seeds should fall off easily. Place the heads in a tray for a week to dry. Then rub the heads gently with your hands or a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be careful as the seeds are very small. 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 usually high. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

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

21,000 (1.66 g)
30+1-Oct-2007RJB74566
South Eastern
100%
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.