Plants of
South Australia
Gunniopsis zygophylloides
Aizoaceae
Twin-leaf Pigface
Display all 15 images
Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
Enlarge Map
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Prior names

Aizoon zygophylloides

Etymology

Gunniopsis from the genus Gunnia, named after Ronald Campbell Gunn (1808-1881), a Tasmanian botanist, and from the Greek 'opsis', meaning resembling; alluding to the resemblance of the genus to the genus Gunnia. Zygophylloides means resembling the genus Zygophyllum.

Distribution and status

Found in north central South Australia growing in rocky situations in ranges and on shale or quartzite. Also found in Northern Territory. Native. Common in South Australia. Uncommon in Northern Territory.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Greenish, slightly papillose, erect or decumbent perennial shrub to 60 cm high. Leaves green or yellow-green, ovate to obovate, to 58 mm long and 24 mm wide. Flowers solitary, outside surface green, inside surface yellow. Flowering between July and October. Fruits are brown capsule to 8 mm long, four lobed and deeply depressed at apex. Seeds are small brown reniform seed to 1.4 mm long, covered with round tubercules. Seed embryo type is peripheral.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Pick mature capsules when they turn a straw colour and contain hard dark seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for at least a week. Then rub the dried capsules 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:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
7,500 (2.8 g)
7,500 (2.8 g)
100+5-Oct-2010TST1016
Lake Eyre
1-Jan-2012100%-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.