Botanical art
Prior names
Wahlenbergia simplicicaulis
Wahlenbergia tadgellii
Common names
Tadgell's Bluebell
Etymology
Wahlenbergia named by H.A Schrader in honour of Georg Göran Wahlenberg (1780-1851), a Swedish professor of botany. Multicaulis from the Latin 'multus' meaning many and the Greek 'caulis' meaning stem.
Distribution and status
Found in the higher rainfall regions in South Australia including the Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island and the lower South-east, growing in grassy sites in various types of vegetation. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Uncommon in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Perennial tufted herbs with a fleshy rootstock. Stems to 75 cm long, branching below the flower-spikes. Leaves alternate or sometimes the lowermost opposite to 115 mm long and 10 mm wide, linear throughout or the lowermost oblanceolate, margins flat. Flowers blue, funnel-shaped with 5 lobes. Flowering between September and May. Fruits are pale brown elongated oblong capsule to 12.5 mm long. Seeds are tiny brown elliptic seed to 1 mm long and 0.3 mm wide. Seed embryo type is spatulate under-developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and May. Collect capsules that are maturing, drying and turning brown with brown 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 one collection, the seed viability was high, at 80%.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA | 106,000 (2.3 g) | 1 | 11-Mar-2007 | RJB70941 Murray | 19-Sep-2008 | 80% | -18°C |
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.