Botanical art
Prior names
Xerotes brownii, nom.illeg.
Common names
Many-flower 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. Multiflora from the Latin 'multus' meaning many and 'floris' meaning flower.
Distribution and status
Found only in the lower south-east in South Australia, growing in woodland and forest. Also found in Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Very rare in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium region: South Eastern
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Tufted perennial herb, slender to robust. Leaves to 90 cm long and 3 mm wide, flat or slightly concavo-convex, occasionally plano-convex, rarely terete, smooth or lower surface scabrid, green, greyish green or rarely glaucous, apex entire. Male inflorescence 1- or 2-branched or rarely unbranched, flower clusters whorled. Female inflorescence similar, unbranched. Male flowers on pedicels usually to 8 mm long, always distinctly exceeding bracts at anthesis. Female flowers larger, sessile. Flowering between June and January. Fruits are ovoid to globular capsule. Seeds are yellow to brown, rounded wedge shaped seed to 5 mm long and 3 mm wide. Seed embryo type is linear underdeveloped.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between December and February. Collect mature fruits 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 one collection, the seed viability was high, at 90%. This species has morphophysiological dormancy and can take several weeks to germinate.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA | 1,380 (11.49 g) | 20+ | 23-Dec-2010 | DJD1922 South Eastern | 1-Jan-2012 | 90% | -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.