Plants of
South Australia
Brachyscome lineariloba
Asteraceae
Dwarf Daisy,
Hard-head Daisy
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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 painting: 1

Prior names

Steiroglossa lineariloba

Brachycome pachyptera

Brachycome lineariloba

Common names

Dwarf Daisy

Hard-head Daisy

Etymology

Brachyscome from the Greek 'brachys' meaning short and 'kome' meaning hair, referring to the tuft of short bristles or hairs of the pappus. Lineariloba from the Latin 'linearis' meaning linear, straight and 'lobos' meaning lobe, referring to the linear leaf lobes.

Distribution and status

Found across much of South Australia except the north-west and north-east corners, growing in a wide range of habitats, including pastures, gibber plains, shrub steppe, mallee and woodland. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Annual herb to 15 cm high with very short stems, branching at ground level. Leaves basal and near-basal, not forming a rosette, lobed with 3-9 linear obtuse segments, to 8 cm long. hairless. Flowers small white daisy appearing between June and October. Fruits are hard dense brown daisy heads. Seeds are brown semi-flat pyramid/rocket-shaped seed to 2.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, long hairs along the margin. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Pick heads that are maturing, drying off, with brown seeds. Place the seed-heads in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then gently rub the heads with 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. Seed viability can be average.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA15,400 (8.17 g)2-Nov-2005DJD170
Eyre Peninsula		1-Aug-200755%-18°C
BGA3,300 (1.23 g)15-Oct-2009TST827
Yorke Peninsula		1-Jan-201295%-18°C
BGA 
MSB		2,600 (1.46 g)
2,600 (1.46 g)		30-Sep-2008MJT207
Eyre Peninsula		20-Jun-202380%-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.
We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.