Prior names
Spyridium halmaturinum var. halmaturinum, partly
Etymology
Spyridium from the Greek 'spyridion' meaning a small basket; referring to the flowerheads which are circled by leafy bracts. Fontis-woodsii from the Latin 'fons' meaning well or spring and the name of the neighbouring locality Woods Well (named by Thomas Burr, Deputy Surveyor-General of South Australia after a ‘Mr Wood’) where the type specimen was collected from.
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and currently known from a single extant roadside population, growing on shallow sands over calcrete with Eucalyptus diversifolia and heath plants. Native. Very rare in South Australia.
Herbarium region: South Eastern
NRM region: South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect perennial shrub to 1.8 m with pubescent stems. Leaves to 15 mm long, alternate, broadly obovate, notched at the apex, stellate or bifid hairs, green except for the 4-5 white-velvety floral leaves. Inflorescence a dense cymose with funnel shaped, white flowers approximately 3mm long. Fruits are dark brown ellipsoid to obovoid fruit to 2.2 mm long and 1.9mm wide, consisting of 3 papery fruitlets. Seeds are light brown, mottled, flattened obovoid seed to 1.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between January and February. Collect fruit heads that are darkening and have a fluffy appearance. Rub the flower parts in your palm to see if there is any seed, which should be brown and hard. Place the heads in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the heads with your hands or a rubber bung 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 average, at 74%. This species has physical dormancy that can be overcome by nicking or scratching the seed coat with a scalpel or sand paper or by pouring hot (boiling) water over the seeds.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSB | 1,200 (0.745 g) | 30+ | 30-Jan-2006 | HPV2853 South Eastern | |||
BGA | 750 (0.33 g) | 10 | 30-Jan-2013 | DJD2612 South Eastern | 27-Feb-2014 | 74% | -18°C |
BGA | 410 (0.25 g) | 6 | 16-Oct-2018 | DJD2612 South Eastern | 24-Jun-2020 | N/C | -18°C |
BGA | 4,000 (2.180 g) | 10 | 14-Apr-2020 | TST1451 South Eastern | 28-Jun-2021 | 80% | -18°C |