Plants of
South Australia
Wahlenbergia capillaris
Campanulaceae
Tufted Bluebell
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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: 9

Prior names

Wahlenbergia capillaris, nom.nud., questionably

Common names

Tufted Bluebell

Etymology

Wahlenbergia named by H.A Schrader in honour of Georg Göran Wahlenberg (1780–1851), a Swedish professor of botany. Capillaris from Latin meaning hair-like.

Distribution and status

Found across much of South Australia except on Kangaroo Island, in a range of habitat. Also found in all mainland states. 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, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Perennial tufted herbs with a fleshy rootstock with many stems from base, usually branched, rarely simple, glabrous, or hirsute near base, erect, to 50 cm high, leafy throughout or only toward base. Leaves alternate, oblanceolate (near base) to linear, to 50 mm long and 6 mm wide, margins entire or with a few small callus-teeth, flat or undulate. Flowers terminal, blue often whitish outside, funnel-shaped with 5 narrow-triangular lobes. Flowers throughout the year. Fruits are brown ovoid capsule to 9 mm long and 5 mm wide. Seeds are tiny orange elliptic seed to 0.6 mm long and 0.3 mm wide. Seed embryo type is spatulate under-developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between January and December. Collect capsules that are maturing, drying and turning orange with hard seeds inside. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the capsules gently with your hands to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be careful as the seeds are very small. 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 three collections, the seed viability were high, ranging from 80% to 85%.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB		45,000 (0.59 g)
45,000 (0.59 g)		8016-Nov-2004DJD34
Southern Lofty		28-Mar-2006100%-18°C
BGA 
MSB		31,500 (0.63 g)
31,500 (0.63 g)		40-5010-Nov-2005MKJ130
Gairdner-Torrens		28-Jul-200685%-18°C
BGA 
MSB		150,000 (5.52 g)
150,000 (5.52 g)		100+4-Mar-2007KHB73
South Eastern		1-Aug-200780%-18°C
BGA17,000 (0.34 g)25+31-Mar-2010DJD1818
Eastern		1-Jun-2010100%-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.