Plants of
South Australia
Calandrinia ptychosperma
Montiaceae
Wrinkly-seed Parakeelya,
Creeping Parakeelya
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Parakeelya ptychosperma

Calandrinia morrisiae

Calandrinia maryonii

Common names

Wrinkly-seed Parakeelya

Creeping Parakeelya

Etymology

Calandrinia named after Jean-Louis Calandrini (1703-1758), a Swiss scientist, professor of mathematics and philosophy. Ptychrosperma from the Greek 'ptyche' meaning a fold and 'sperma' meaning seed; referring to the concentric ribs around the seeds.

Distribution and status

Found across the northern part of South Australia, growing in sandy watercourses or low-lying areas, but also in rocky loams and clay pans. Found in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Prostrate to decumbent annual herb with stems to 40 cm long. Leaves basal and on flower stems; alternate, sessile, linear to lanceolate, often terete, to 70 mm long and 3 mm wide. Inflorescence loose spike (erect to spreading in fruit), with pink to purple flowers. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are red-brown ovoid to conical capsules to 7 mm long with 4 valves. Seeds are dark red-brown reniform-ovoid seed to 0.6 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, with concentric ribs. Seed embryo type is peripheral.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Collect mature capsules that are turning red-brown colour and contain dark seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to 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:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA13,300 (0.63 g)5018-May-2007RJB72080
North Western
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.