Botanical art
Etymology
Juncus from the Latin 'jungere' meaning to tie or bind; referring to the use of the rushes for weaving and basketry. Australis means of or from the south; referring to the distribution of the species in the southern hemisphere.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the South-east in South Australia, growing in wet or seasonally wet situations in grasslands and woodlands. Also found in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and New Zealand. Native. Rare in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Loosely tufted perennial rush growing from a shortly creeping rootstock, with cylindrical stem to 120 cm high and 4 mm diameter, dull green to dull blue-green, not easily compressed, pit interrupted with large air-spaces. Inflorescence in 1 to many sub-globular clusters with many pale brown flowers. Flowering in spring and summer. Fruits are clusters of golden brown ellipsoid capsules with numerous seeds. Seeds are tiny orange ellipsoid seed to 0.5 mm long and 0.2 mm wide, with fine reticulated surface. Seed embryo type is broad.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and March. Collect fruits either by picking off the mature heads, those turning brown and come-off easily or break-off the whole spikes. Place the heads in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the heads with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate any unwanted material. Be careful, as the seeds are very small. Seeds are brown and hard. 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 four collections, the seed viability were high, ranging from 95% to 100%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA | 175,000 (2.26 g) | 50 | 24-Nov-2007 | RJB75882 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 100% | +5°C, -18°C |
BGA | 116,000 (1.35 g) | 50 | 12-Jan-2008 | RJB76884 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 100% | +5°C, -18°C |
BGA | 29,000 (0.46 g) | 20+ | 1-Mar-2010 | KHB373 Southern Lofty | 1-Jun-2010 | 95% | +5°C, -18°C |