Plants of
South Australia
Lawrencia glomerata
Malvaceae
Clustered Lawrencia,
Small Golden-spike
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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: 5

Prior names

Plagianthus spicatus var. pubescens

Plagianthus glomeratus

Common names

Clustered Lawrencia

Small Golden-spike

Etymology

Lawrencia, named after Robert Williams Lawrence (1807-33), an English-born botanist and plant collector in Tasmania. Glomerata from the Latin 'glomeratus', meaning heap or forming a ball, referring to the dense flower clusters.

Distribution and status

Found across all of South Australia growing in saline or sub-saline flats, depressions and around salt lakes, usually associated with mallee or samphire communities. Also found in all mainland States. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Short-lived perennial sub-shrub to 50 cm high, with several soft-woody procumbent to erect branches from the base. Lower leaves obovate to cuneate, to 40 mm long and 18 mm wide, on a long stalk; margins crenate to serrate; surfaces densely hairy. Upper leaves stalkless; smaller and relatively narrower than lower leaves; margins entire or commonly 3-toothed at apex. Inflorescence bisexual; solitary or few in axils of floral leaves with greenish, white or yellow flowers. Flowering between July and August. Fruits are glabrous fruit consisting of a number of seed segments with a pointed apex and with the inner walls finely reticulate. Seeds are brown wedge-shaped seed to 2 mm long and 2 mm wide. Seed embryo type is folded.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and November. Collect mature fruits, those that are turning a brown colour and with the segments containing dark hard seeds. Place the fruits in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the fruits gently by hand to separate the seed segments. 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 two collections, the seed viability was average to high, ranging from 65% to 100%. This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking or softening the seed coat).

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB		14,500 (67.9 g)
14,500 (67.9 g)		3523-Oct-2004MOL4584
Gairdner-Torrens		28-Mar-200665%-18°C
BGA 
MSB		5,000 (4.2 g)
5,000 (4.2 g)		507-Nov-2005MKJ96
Gairdner-Torrens		7-Aug-2006100%-18°C
BGA36,400 (25.49 g)5021-Nov-2007RJB74450
South Eastern		19-Sep-2008100%-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.
We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.