Plants of
South Australia
Adriana tomentosa var. hookeri
Euphorbiaceae
Water-bush,
Mallee Bitter-bush
Display all 7 images
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
Enlarge Map
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Botanical art

Kath Alcock painting: 1

Prior names

Adriana urticoides var. hookeri

Croton urticoides

Trachycaryon hookeri

Adriana hookeri

Common names

Water-bush

Mallee Bitter-bush

Etymology

Adriana named after the French botanist Adrien de Jussieu (1797-1853). Tomentosa from the Latin 'tomentum' meaning covered with fine, matted hairs, referring to the matted hairs covering the whole plant. Hookeri named after Sir William Jackson Hooker, 19th century botany professor & director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.

Distribution and status

Found across the northern part of South Australia with isolated populations in the Nullarbor and upper Eyre Peninsula. Also found in all other mainland States. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Eyre Peninsula, Murray
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

 

Ascending shrub to 2 m high and 2 m diameter, with reddish stems, sparsely or densely covered in hairs. Leaves alternate on 5-30 mm long petioles, lamina oblong or ovate-oblong to oblong-lanceolate to 7 cm long, rounded or cuneate, sparsely wavy to distantly crenate-toothed, often obtusely tri lobed, hairy.

Species consist of male and female plants. Male spikes to 17cm long, with up to 30 flowers. Female spikes to 5 cm long with l-7-flowers. Flowering between July and January. Fruits are brown, hairy ovoid capsule to 9 mm long. Seeds are brown or mottled brown, ovoid seed to 8 mm long and 5 mm wide. Seed embryo type is spathulate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and March. Collect ripe fruits when they become dull in colour and seeds are mature, hard. Place the fruits in a paper bag and leave to dry for 1 to 2 weeks, until they split. Then rub the capsules 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. This species has physiological dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA350 (14.43 g)23-Oct-2007MJT123
Lake Eyre
1-Jan-2012 -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.