Botanical art
Common names
Tufted Centrolepis
Etymology
Centrolepis from the Greek 'kentron' meaning a spur and 'lepis' meaning, scale, referring to the points on the bracts of Centrolepis fascicularis, the type specimen for the genus. Fascicularis from Latin meaning clustered or grouped together in bundles.
Distribution and status
Found on lower Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower South-east growing on margins of swamps and in moist micro-habitats. Also found in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Uncommon in South Australia. Rare in Queensland. Uncommon in Western Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Bright green perennial herb forming dense cushions to 12 cm diameter. Leaves numerous, linear-filiform, acute, to 4.5 cm long and 0.8 mm wide; straight, spreading, soft, sparsely pilose in the basal half, innermost leaf reduced to a hyaline ( membranous) sheath. Flowering head broadly ovoid, to 3 mm long on a long erect stalk. Flowering between November and February. Fruits are small brown ovoid head at end of long stalk. Seeds are small orange-brown ellipsoid seed to 0.7 mm and 0.3 mm wide. Seed embryo type is broad.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between December and March. Collect fruit heads that are starting to dry off and turning pale straw colour by picking then off with your fingers. Place the heads in a tray for 1-2 week to dry. Then rub the heads with your hands or a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Pass the material through a sieve to separate the unwanted material. The finer material will contain both seeds (soft) and frass (hard) usually distinguishable from each other. With finer sieves, the seeds can be separated from the frass but this is not essential for storage or propagation. 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. Seed viability is usually high.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA | 21,000 (1.64 g) | 50 | 3-Dec-2007 | RJB76289 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 100% | -18°C |
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.