Plants of
South Australia
Harmsiodoxa blennodioides
Brassicaceae
May Smocks,
Hairy-pod Cress
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
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Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 2

Prior names

Harmsiodoxa cunninghamii

Erysimum cunninghamii

Blennodia cunninghamii

Erysimum lasiocarpum

Erysimum blennodioides

Blennodia lasiocarpa

Sisymbrium lasiocarpum

Blennodia blennodioides

Common names

May Smocks

Hairy-pod Cress

Etymology

Harmsiodoxa named after August Theodor Harms (1870-1942), a German taxonomist and botanist, with the Greek 'doxa' meaning praise. Blennodioides means resembling the genus Blennodia.

Distribution and status

Found across the northern part of South Australia, growing in sandy soil. Also found in the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Erect, hairy annual herb to 30 cm tall. Basal leaves narrow-obovate, coarsely lobed to toothed with 1-3 pairs of triangular lobes; upper leaves reducing. Flowers along a spike with white, pink or lavender flowers. Flowering between July and December. Fruits are hairy brown ovoid pod to 25 mm long, with simple hairs at the distal end, longer than at the proximal end. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and February. Collect maturing pods those turning pale brown with hard seeds inside. Be gentle with the pods as they split open easily. Place the pods in a tray and cover with paper to prevent seeds from popping out and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the dried pods 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 95%. This species has physiological dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB		3,900 (2.83 g)
3,900 (2.83 g)		25-Sep-2008DJD1136
Lake Eyre		20-Jul-200995%-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.