Lomandra juncea

Asparagaceae

Desert Mat-rush

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plant: Lomandra juncea plant Braeside Road

flower: Lomandra juncea flowers Billiat CP 1

flower: Lomandra juncea flower Braeside Road

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

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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 8

Prior names

Xerotes juncea

Common names

Desert Mat-rush

Etymology

Lomandra, from the Greek 'loma', meaning edge, border or fringe and 'andros', meaning a male, alluding to the circular margin of the anthers in some species. Juncea, from Latin meaning rush-like, alluding to its appearance.

Distribution and status

Found on Eyre Peninsula, Mount Lofty Ranges, Murrayland and upper Southeast in South Australia, growing in mallee communities on sandy soils. Also found in Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Tussock perennial herb. Leaves to 50 cm long and 1.5 mm wide; terete, rigid; apex pungent. Inflorescences much shorter than leaves, the male with 3–7 spherical segments; the female with l or 2. Perianth 5 mm long; sepals white; petals yellowish. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are dark purple, almost globular capsule to 6 mm long; smooth. Seeds are yellow-brown, rounded wedge-shaped seed to 4 mm long and 3 mm wide. Seed embryo type is linear, underdeveloped.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and December. Collect mature fruits, turning brown with a hard seed inside, or when they are starting to split. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently by hand 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 three collections, the seed viability was high, at 100%. This species has morpho-physiological dormancy and is difficult to germinate.

Seeds stored:

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Location	No. of seeds (weight grams)	Number of plants	Date collected	Collection number Collection location	Date stored	% Viability	Storage temperature
BGA MSB	3,200 (28 g) 3,200 (28 g)	40	20-Nov-2006	DJD690 Murray	1-Aug-2007	100%	-18°C
BGA	2,900 (40.07 g)		20-Nov-2013	JRG80 Murray	1-Nov-2017	100%	-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.

Germination table:

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Date	Result	T0	T50	Pre-treatment \| Germination medium \| Incubator: Photoperiod / Thermoperiod
Jul-15	70%	28	42	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, leached in aerated water 72 h, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid for 72 h; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Jul-15	62%	35	49	dry heat 50 Â°C oven 24 h, 30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Jul-15	60%	28	56	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid for 72 h; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Jul-15	58%	35	49	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid for 72 h; 1% agar; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Jul-15	40%	42	NA	3% hydrogen peroxide for 72 h, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid for 72 h; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Mar-15	35%	28	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid for 72 h; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Mar-15	35%	28	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid + 10% smoke water for 72 h; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Sep-14	34%	35	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, dry heat 35Â°C oven for 6 weeks with 24 h wet cycle once a week, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid 24 h; moist sand; Incubated under winter conditions
Sep-14	24%	42	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid + 10% smoke water 24 h; moist sand; Incubated under winter conditions
Sep-14	12%	56	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid 24 h; moist sand; Incubated under winter conditions
Sep-14	12%	42	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, dry heat 35Â°C oven for 6 weeks, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid 24 h; moist sand; Incubated under winter conditions
Mar-14	12%	28	NA	1000 mg/L gibberellic acid 24 h; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Mar-15	7%	28	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Mar-15	7%	28	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, 10% smoke water for 24 h; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Sep-14	6%	49	NA	dry heat 90Â°C oven 15 min, 30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, water rinse, 1000 gibberellic acid + 10% smoke water 24 h; moist sand; Incubated under winter conditions
Mar-14	6%	28	NA	leached in water 24 h; moist sand; 12/12; / 15Â°C
Sep-14	2%	77	NA	dry heat 90Â°C oven 15 min, 30% hydrogen peroxide 15 min, 1000 mg/L gibberellic acid 24 h; moist sand; Incubated under winter conditions

Result: Maximum percentage of germination observed.
T0: Number of days before first germinant observed.
T50: Number of days to achieve 50% germination.
Pre-treatment: The initial treatment that the seeds received prior to placement on germination media.
Germination medium: The substrate that seeds were placed on for the duration of the germination experiment.
Incubator conditions:
Photoperiod: The duration of light exposure that the seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Thermoperiod: The constant or diurnal temperatures that seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Winter conditions: 15°C 20 h (3am→11pm); 5°C 4 h (11pm→3am) / 10 h light (8am→6pm); 14 h dark (6pm→8am)
Spring/Autumn conditions: 22°C 12 h (8am→8pm); 10°C 12 h (8pm→8am) / 12 h light (8am→8pm); 12 h dark (8pm→8am)
Summer conditions: 30°C 14 h (6am→8pm); 15°C 10 h (8pm→6am) / 14 h light (6am→8pm); 10 h dark (8pm→6am)

Bridgewater (NCP01)	Naracoorte Coastal Plain	Near Threatened
Glenelg Plain (NCP02)		Near Threatened
Lucindale (NCP03)		Least Concern
Tintinara (NCP04)		Least Concern
Kangaroo Island (KAN01)	Kanmantoo	Vulnerable (IUCN: VU D2) [only 1 pop near Flinders Chase; mallee sp; disjunct pop]
Fleurieu (KAN02)		Near Threatened [likes deep sands, undercollected, lack of regeneration]
Mount Lofty Ranges (FLB01)	Flinders Lofty Block	Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) (Probable Decline) [limited habitat]
St Vincent (EYB02)	Eyre Yorke Block	Regionally Extinct
Eyre Hills (EYB03)		Near Threatened [rainfall sensitive]
Talia (EYB04)		Near Threatened [rainfall sensitive]
Eyre Mallee (EYB05)		Least Concern [rainfall sensitive]
Murray Mallee (MDD02)	Murray Darling Depression	Least Concern
Murray Lakes and Coorong (MDD03)		Near Threatened
Lowan Mallee (MDD04)		Least Concern
Wimmera (MDD05)		Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii))
Myall Plains (GAW01)	Gawler	Near Threatened [rainfall sensitive]

4 of 4 subregions	Naracoorte Coastal Plain	Least Concern , Near Threatened
2 of 2 subregions	Kanmantoo	Near Threatened , Vulnerable
Mount Lofty Ranges (FLB01)	Flinders Lofty Block	Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) (Probable Decline) [limited habitat]
4 of 5 subregions	Eyre Yorke Block	Least Concern , Near Threatened , Regionally Extinct
4 of 6 subregions	Murray Darling Depression	Least Concern , Near Threatened , Rare
Myall Plains (GAW01)	Gawler	Near Threatened [rainfall sensitive]