Plants of
South Australia
Brachyscome diversifolia
Asteraceae
Tall Daisy,
Large-head Daisy
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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: 3

Prior names

Pyrethrum diversifolium

Brachycome diversifolia var. diversifolia

Common names

Tall Daisy

Large-head Daisy

Etymology

Brachyscome from the Greek 'brachys' meaning short and 'kome' meaning hair, referring to the tuft of short bristles or hairs of the pappus. Diversifolia from the Latin 'diversus' meaning different and 'folium' meaning leaf, referring to the species having different shaped leaves on the same plant.

Distribution and status

Found in a few sites in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia, growing in forest and along gullies. There is an old collection (1934) from the South-east around Lucindale but this population has not been relocated. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Very rare in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Erect perennial daisy growing to 50 cm tall with hairy serrated basal leaves. Flowers single large white daisy on a long stalk. Flowering between October and November. Fruits are dried daisy-heads containing numerous seeds. Seeds are rectangular brown seeds to 3.2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, with short hairs at one end. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Collect heads that are drying off and turning brown. The hard brown seeds should dislodge easily. Place the heads in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the heads gently with your hands 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. Seed viability can be average to high. This species has physiological dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA2,300 (0.72 g)1-Nov-2006RJB70311
Southern Lofty
1-Aug-200775%+5°C, -18°C
BGA 
MSB
5,500 (1.9 g)
2,411 (0.82 g)
5016-Nov-2006PJA138
Southern Lofty
1-Aug-200755%+5°C, -18°C
BGA1,300 (0.35 g)1024-Nov-2006PJA139
Southern Lofty
1-Jun-201085%-18°C
BGA1,700 (0.76 g)20-Nov-2008PJA188
Southern Lofty
1-Jan-201290%-18°C
BGA7,025 (1.75 g)20-Nov-2009PJA187
Southern Lofty
1-Jan-2012 -18°C
BGA660 (0.27 g)25-Nov-2009PJA202
Southern Lofty
2-May-2017100%-18°C
BGA19,800 (9.17 g)3-Nov-2010KHB547
Southern Lofty
28-Jun-202185%+5°C, -18°C
BGA2,200 (1.410 g)5023-Dec-2020TST1464
Southern Lofty
28-Jun-202190%-18°C
BGA30,000 (16.280 g)1009-Dec-2021TST1481
Southern Lofty
7-Jul-202280%-18°C, -80°C
BGA1,500 (0.626 g)10+9-Nov-2021TST1464
Southern Lofty
7-Jul-2022100%-18°C
BGA11,500 (6.154 g)50+9-Dec-2021TST1464
Southern Lofty
20-Jun-2023100%-18°C, -80°C
BGA1,445 (1.068 g)20+6-Dec-2022BKB149
Southern Lofty
20-Jun-202390%-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.
Germination table:
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