Plants of
South Australia
Blennodia pterosperma
Brassicaceae
Wild Stock
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Arkaroola
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Hawker
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Blennodia canescens var. pterosperma

Etymology

Blennodia from the Greek 'blennos' meaning slime, referring to the mucous seeds. Pterosperma frrom the Greek 'pteron' meaning winged and 'spermus' meaning a seed, referring to the species having winged seeds.

Distribution and status

Found in the north-eastern part of South Australia, growing on sand in dunes and swales. Also found in the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. Native. Common in South Australia. Uncommon in New South Wales. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern
NRM region: South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Erect annual herb to 50 cm tall, with hairy stems and branches. Leaves pinnate with 2-5 pairs of lobes to 7 cm long. Flowers white, pink or lavender on a long spike. Flowering between June and October. Fruits are long brown cylindrical pods hanging down along the stem. This differ from Blennodia canescens where the pods are held erect. Seeds are flat orange reniform seed to 2 mm long and 1.2 mm wide, with a slightly wrinkled surface and a papery wing on the edge. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between August and November. Collect pods that are maturing, drying off and turning brown with yellow seeds inside. Place the pods in a tray and cover with paper to prevent seeds from popping out and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the pods gently by hand 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 one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%. This species has physiological dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

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
19,500 (7.61 g)
19,500 (7.61 g)
50+25-Sep-2008TST413
Lake Eyre
20-Jul-2009100%-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.