Botanical art
Prior names
Devauxia glabra
Common names
Smooth 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. Glabra from Latin meaning smooth, without hairs.
Distribution and status
Found on lower Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower South-east growing in mud around temporary freshwater pools and stream margins. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Tasmania. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Annual or ephemeral herb to 8 cm high, forming small scattered tufts, dull-green or becoming reddish. Leaves few, linear to filiform, acute, to 8 cm long and 1 mm wide; lax, flattened, glabrous, innermost leaf reduced to an obtuse hyaline sheath. Flower head cylindrical, to 3 mm long and 0.7 mm wide on a long erect stalk. Flowering between October and November. Fruits are small red-brown cylindrical head at end of long stalk. Seeds are small orange-brown ovoid seed to 0.4 mm and 0.2 mm wide. Seed embryo type is broad.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between December and January. Collect whole plant that are starting to dry off and turning pale straw colour. Place the plant material in a tray for 1-2 week to dry. Then rub the pods 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSB | 19,600 (0.37 g) | 100 | 23-Nov-2007 | RJB75892 South Eastern | 100% | ||
| BGA | 30,000 (0.48 g) | 100+ | 21-Jan-2011 | JQ138 Southern Lofty | 1-Jan-2012 | 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.