Plants of
South Australia
Chorizandra australis
Cyperaceae
Southern Bristle-sedge,
Bristle-rush,
Bristle-sedge
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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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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Chorizandra sp.

Common names

Southern Bristle-sedge

Bristle-rush

Bristle-sedge

Etymology

Chorizandra from the Greek 'chorizo' meaning to separate and 'aner' meaning a male; referring to the male flowers. Australis means of or from the south, or Australia.

Distribution and status

Found only in the lower South-east in South Australia from near Kingston, the Coorong and Glencoe growing in swamps and around waterholes in still or slow-flowing water. Also found in Tasmania and Victoria. Native. Rare in South Australia. Uncommon in Victoria. Common in Tasmania.
Herbarium region: South Eastern
NRM region: South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Perennial sedge with a tough stem that grows up to 2 m in height. It is yellow-green, hollow stemmed (easily compressed) with longitudinal striations and globular flower heads. Flowers in spring and summer. Fruits are dense, bristly brown, spherical flower-heads, dark purplish-black when young. Seeds are woody brown ovoid nut to 4 mm long and 2.5 mm wide, with deep striation on the surface. Seed embryo type is capitate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between December and March. Collect heads that are brown and come off easily with your fingers. Place the heads in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the heads gently with a rubber bung to dislodge the seed. Use a sieve to separated 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 80%.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

1,150 (6.4 g)
31-Jan-2006HPV2944
South Eastern
BGA12,200 (90.19 g)50+13-Dec-2007TST290
South Eastern
19-Sep-200880%+5°C, -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.