Botanical art
Etymology
Phyllanthus from the Greek 'phyllon' meaning a leaf and 'anthos' meaning a flower, referring to some foreign species where the flowers grow on the edges of dilated leaf-like branchlets. Calycinus means having a persistent (or conspicuous) calyx.
Distribution and status
Found on Eyre Peninsula, tip of Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and southern Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, growing on sandy soil. Also found in Western Australia. Native. Rare in South Australia. Common in Western Australia.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect glabrous shrub to 50 cm tall, with many branches arising from the base. Leaves inserted spirally on short but distinct stalk; oblong-cuneate, to 15 mm long and 7 mm wide; mucronulate, flat, green-glaucous. Flowers on slender stalk, female flowers solitary, with or without 2 or 3 males in the same axils. Male perianth-segments 6 rarely 5, petal-like;, ovate, pink, bordered with whit; anthers and filaments free; cells dehiscing lengthwise. Female perianth larger than in the males; segments broadly ovate, almost concealing the capsule; styles free or very shortly united at the base. Flowering between May and October. Fruits are green globular capsule to 5 mm diameter. Seeds are brown sectoroid seed to 3 mm long and 2.2 mm wide; smooth, longitudinally striated with darker lines. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and December. Collect individually or break off short fruiting stems with fat, brown capsules with hard dark seed. Slightly green capsules can be collected if the seeds are dark and hard. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then gently rub the capsules with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieves 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. Seed viability can be variable and seeds. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 85%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA | 3,600 (14.45 g) | 25 | 11-Nov-2009 | TST802 Yorke Peninsula | 1-Jun-2010 | 85% | +5°C, -18°C |