Plants of
South Australia
Calotis cymbacantha
Asteraceae
Showy Burr-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 paintings: 5

Common names

Showy Burr-daisy

Etymology

Calotis from the Greek 'kalos' meaning beautiful and 'otos' meaning ear, after the first species named in the genus Calotis cuneifolia which has an ear-shaped pappus. Cymbacantha from the Greek 'kymbe' meaning boat and 'akantha' meaning thorn, spine, referring to the boat-shaped spine on the seed.

Distribution and status

Found across much of the arid part of South Australia growing on sandy soils in woodland and shrub communities. Also found in the Northern Territory, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in Victoria. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Annual or perennial herb to 40 cm high with erect, branching and hairy stems becoming woody at the base. Base leaves petiolate to 9 cm long, soon withering. Stem leaves sessile, broad-linear to spathulate to 8 cm long and 27 mm wide; pinnatipartite to slightly dentate, scabrous-pubescent. Flower-head in loose cymes of 2-5 flowers, ray florets yellow. Flowering between July and October. Fruits are brown round spiny fruit-head. Seeds are yellow-brown seed to 6 mm long with two large spine shaped like a boat at one end. Seed embryo type is spathulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and December. Collect mature seed heads that are dried and turning brown by picking off the heads and placing them in a paper bag. Be careful as the heads are spiny. Leave the heads in the paper bag to dry for at least a week. No further cleaning required if only the heads are collected. If other material were collected, use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Whole heads can be stored with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB
1,800 (1.8 g)		20-3021-Nov-2005BS945042
North Western
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.