Botanical art
Prior names
Tillaea verticillaris
Tillaea sieberana
Crassula sieberiana ssp. sieberiana
Common names
Australian Stonecrop
Sieber's Crassula
Etymology
Crassula the diminutive of the Latin 'crassus' meaning thick, alluding to the fleshy leaves and branches. Sieberiana named after Franz Wilhelm Sieber (1789-1844), a Bohemian botanist and collector who travelled to Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and Australia.
Distribution and status
Found only in southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia growing on rock ledges and in crevices and on seasonally inundated ground. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Very rare in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium region: Southern Lofty
NRM region: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Tiny erect herb to ankle high with succulent paired leaves. Flowers white or pink; small, fleshy, usually one flower per group, on a long thin stalk. Flowers in spring and summer. Fruits are small red-brown capsules in clusters along the stems. Seeds are brown ellipsoid seed to 0.6 mm long and 0.2 mm wide, with a tuberculate surface.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and February. Collect whole plants that are drying off, turning red-brown with mature fruit-spikes. These will contain very small brown seeds when rubbed with your fingers. Place the plants in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. Then rub the plants 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. 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 two collections, the seed viability was high, ranging from 85% to 95%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSB | 21,000 (0.37 g) | 50 | 7-Jan-2008 | RJB76844 Southern Lofty | 100% | ||
BGA | 68,000 (0.99 g) | 10 | 23-Oct-2007 | RJB75032 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 95% | +5°C, -18°C |
BGA | 91,000 (1.1 g) | 50+ | 23-Jan-2008 | DJD1046 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 85% | +5°C, -18°C |
BGA | 14,500 (0.41 g) | 12-Apr-2008 | KHB Southern Lofty | 1-Jan-2016 | 15% | -18°C |