Botanical art
Prior names
Ixodia ptarmicoides
Ixodia achillaeoides var. alata
Ixodia alata
Common names
Winged Ixodia
Hills Daisy
Etymology
Ixodia, from the Greek 'ixodes', meaning sticky, (from the Greek 'ixos' meaning birdlime), referring to the plant being sticky. Achillaeoides, means resembling the genus Achillea, (named after the Greek warrior Achilleios, who reputedly used plants from the genus to patch-up wounds). Alata, from the Latin 'alatus ', meaning winged, referring to the winged stems.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern part of South Australia growing on a wide range of soils in forest, woodland and scrub communities. Also found in Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in Victoria. More common following a fire.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect shrub or undershrub to 2 m high; stems with wings to 2 mm wide extending from the leaf bases; aromatic and viscid. Leaves narrowly lanceolate to linear, to 90 mm long and 9 mm wide. Flower-heads terminal open clusters with white papery flowers. Flowering between October and February. This subspecies differs from the other two subspecies by having linear to lanceolate leaves, (oblanceolate for I. achillaeoides ssp. achillaeoides and obovate for I. achillaeoides ssp. arenicola) and found mainly away from the coast, (coastal cliffs and exposed coastal sand dunes on the bottom of the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas and Kangaroo Island for I. achillaeoides ssp. achillaeoides and coastal only in the lower South-east for I. achillaeoides ssp. arenicola). Fruits are white to greyish-brown papery head. Seeds are dark-brown oblong seed to 1.2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, covered with short hairs. Seed embryo type is spathulate.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between December and April. Collect whole heads that are drying off and turning greyish- brown or collect just the seeds by plucking off. Mature seeds are easily removed. Place the heads in a tray for a week to dry. Then pluck the seeds from the head with your finders. Viable seeds will be fat and brown. 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.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA | 56,500 (3.86 g) | 100+ | 1-Apr-2018 | KHB991 Eyre Peninsula | 30-Jun-2018 | 90% | -18°C, -80°C |