Prior names
Stellaria angustifolia, partly
Stellaria palustris var. palustris
Common names
Narrow-leaf Swamp Starwort
Swamp Starwort
Etymology
Stellaria from the Latin 'stella' meaning a star and 'aria ' meaning connected with; an allusion to the radiating, deeply bifid petals. Angustifolia from the Latin 'augusta' meaning narrow and 'folium' meaning leaf.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island and then South-east in South Australia, growing in wet areas amongst grasslands, herblands, sedgelands, lignum thickets in swamps, along watercourses particularly after flooding or underlying in open woodlands and forest. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Uncommon in South Australia. Rare in Tasmania. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Murray, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Weak trailing perennial herb with 4-angled and glabrous stems. Leaves linear to narrow-lanceolate, to 40 mm long and 1 mm wide, apex obtuse to acute, not rigid, margins entire to toothed. Flowers solitary or in groups of 3 with white flowers on long stalks. Flowering between October and December. Fruits are brown ovoid capsule. Seeds are brown reniform seed to 1.3 mm long and 1.1 mm wide, covered in dense wrinkles or net-like surface. Seed embryo type is peripheral.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between December and February. Collect capsules that are maturing, fat and turning brown and contain hard brown seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently by hand or with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Seeds should be hard 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. From two collections, the seed viability were high, ranging from 80% to 100%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA MSB | 8,800 (4.8 g) 8,800 (4.8 g) | 100+ | 4-Dec-2007 | TST252 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 100% | -18°C |
BGA | 1,000 (0.4 g) | 100+ | 5-Dec-2013 | DJD2605 South Eastern | 27-Feb-2014 | 80% | -18°C |
BGA | 13,100 (9.778 g) | 30 | 2-Dec-2021 | BKB23 Kangaroo Island | 7-Jul-2022 | 85% | -18°C, -80°C |