Plants of
South Australia
Calocephalus citreus
Compositae
Lemon Beauty-heads
Display all 14 images
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
Enlarge Map
•
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 4

Etymology

Calocephalus from the Greek 'kalos' meaning beautiful and 'kephale' meaning a head, referring to the colourful compound heads. Citreus from Latin meaning of or pertaining to the citron-tree, referring to the lemon-yellow flower colour.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern part of South Australia from the northern Flinders Ranges to the South-east growing in clay or loam soils in grassland or open woodland. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in Queensland and Tasmania. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Perennial herb with slender, erect branches to 60 cm high, felt-like, light grey. Leaves mostly opposite, linear to lanceolate, to 20 mm long and 2 mm wide; tomentose, often sheathing at base; upper leaves smaller, sometimes alternate, usually appressed to stem. Daisy heads globular to oblong, bright golden yellow. Flowering between November and May. Fruits are dense round pale yellow head. Seeds are three-sided brown seed to 1.5 mm long and 0.8 mm wide with a tuberculate surface. Seed embryo type is spatulate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between February and April. Collect heads that are matured, pale yellow, a bit spongy and contain brown seeds. Place the heads in a tray for one to two week to dry. Then rub the heads gently with your hands to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate any unwanted material. Viable seeds will be small 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. Seed viability is usually high. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA27,100 (1.97 g)50+13-Feb-2006HPV3020
South Eastern		14-Sep-2006100%-18°C
BGA 
MSB		20,000 (1.86 g)
20,000 (1.86 g)		100+4-Feb-2006KHB52
Flinders Ranges		14-Sep-200695%-18°C
BGA42,000 (2.89 g)40+10-Mar-2011DJD1792
South Eastern		1-Jan-2012100%-18°C
BGA101,000 (8.31 g)50+25-Feb-2016DJD3338
Southern Lofty		2-May-2017100%-18°C
BGA20,000 (2.22 g)50+23-Feb-2016DJD3336
Southern Lofty		2-May-2017100%-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:
  Display
We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.