Plants of
South Australia
Wurmbea citrina
Colchicaceae
Green-flower Star-lily,
Green-flower Nancy
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
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Keith
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock painting: 1

Prior names

Wurmbea dioica ssp. citrina

Common names

Green-flower Star-lily

Green-flower Nancy

Etymology

Wurmbea name after Friedrick Wilhelm von Wurmb, merchant and botanist in 18th century Batavia (Jakarta). Citrina from the Latin 'citrinus' meaning citrus or lemon-coloured; alluding to the greenish-yellow flowers, unique in this genus in Australia.

Distribution and status

Found in the central an north-eastern parts of South Australia, growing on red sandy soil. Also found in New South Wales. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in New South Wales.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula
NRM regions: Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Dioecious herb to 30 cm high. Leaves 3, well separated to 10 cm long, lowest leaf basal, middle leaf shorter, with long-tepering apex, uppermost leaf very short, strongly dilated at the base. Inflorescence open spike with several to many (-20) yellow-green star-shaped flowers, nectary 1 per tepal, greenish-brown, anthers purple-brown. Flowering between May and September, depending on rainfall. Fruits are brown capsule with rounded segments, not ribbed, containing many seeds. Seeds are dark brown globular seed to 2 mm diameter, with a wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is linear under-developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and November. Collect mature capsules, those turning pale straw colour and containing hard brown seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. 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. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
1,100 (4.14 g)
1,100 (4.14 g)
100+23-Oct-2008DJD1078
Eastern
20-Jul-2009100%+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.