Plants of
South Australia
Sida fibulifera
Malvaceae
Pin Sida,
Low Sida
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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: 4

Prior names

Sida corrugata var. ovata, partly

Sida nematopoda

Sida corrugata var. nematopoda

Common names

Pin Sida

Low Sida

Etymology

Sida a Greek name used by Theophrastus for a water-lily, probably in reference to Nymphaea alba or for a pomegranate tree. Linnaeus transferred the name to Malvaceae changing its primary, pre-Linnaean application. Filulifera from Latin 'fibula' meaning a broach and 'fera' meaning to bear; referring to the pin-like stipules at the leaf-stem junctions.

Distribution and status

Found in the northern part of South Australia, growing in a wide range of habitats including rocky slopes, dunes and swampy ground on clay, sandy or gravelly soils. Also found in all mainland states. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in Victoria. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Prostrate to procumbent spreading shrub to 40 cm high with hairy branches. Leaves alternate, narrow-ovate to elliptic, to 40 mm long and 20 mm wide, densely hairy on both surface, pale on the underside, margin tooted, stalk o 10 mm long, stipules at leaf-stem junctions pin-like, remaining for some time. Inflorescence solitary or in clusters of 3-7 yellow flowers, on very slender stalk. Flowering between March and October. Fruits are brown, flatted globular fruit to 5 mm diameter, with 5-8 segments, each with a wrinkled rounded top and flat net-like face. Seeds are dark brown wedge-shaped seed to 2 mm long and 1 mm wide. Seed embryo type is folded.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between July and December. Collect mature fruits, those that are turning pale straw colour and contain dark hard seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently with a rubber bung or 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 two collections, the seed viability was high, ranging from 80% 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
BGA4,300 (7.04 g)50+24-Nov-2010KHB453
Flinders Ranges
1-Jan-201280%-18°C
BGA5,400 (24.57 g)100+22-Sep-2016DJD3457
Lake Eyre
1-Nov-201780%-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.