Plants of
South Australia
Limosella granitica
Plantaginaceae
Granite Mudwort
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
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Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
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Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
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Etymology

Limosella from diminutive of the Latin 'limosus' meaning muddy; alluding to the habitat and size of the plant. Granitica means to grow in granite crevices; referring to the the species habitat in granite rockholes.

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia and restricted to granite outcrops on central Eyre Peninsula, growing in fine silt in granite rockholes. Native. Very rare in South Australia.
Herbarium region: Eyre Peninsula
NRM region: Eyre Peninsula
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Aquatic perennial herb, occasionally with a conspicuous stolon. Leaves to 80 mm long, with the blade often floating on the surface of the water. Leaf blade obovate to 20 mm long and 4.5 mm wide, attenuated at the base and rounded at the apex. The flower stalks to 22 mm long. Calyx to 3 mm long, red-purple, the corolla white, anthers black with white pollen. Flowering between September and October. Fruits are dark brown globular capsule to 4.8 mm long and 3.5 mm wide, downturned into the silt. Seeds are brown narrow oblong seed to 0.75 mm long and 0.25 mm wide, deep reticulated surface. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and November. Collect mature capsules, turning brown with hard seeds. May have to wait till the water have evaporated. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the capsules gently with your fingers or a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds from the capsules. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be careful as the seeds are very small. Seeds should be oblong, shiny brown. 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:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

2,800 (0.18 g)
50+5-Nov-2005DJD193
Eyre Peninsula
BGA8,900 (0.43 g)100+10-Jan-2019TST1408
Eyre Peninsula
24-Apr-2019100%-18°C, -80°C
BGA2,000 (0.096 g)2-Nov-2005DJD168
Eyre Peninsula
1-May-2019100%-18°C
BGA14,200 (0.78 g)501-Jul-2019TST1408
Eyre Peninsula
24-Jun-2020100%-18°C, -80°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.