Calotis scapigera

plant: Calotis scapigera lf DEM9516 Kroehns Landing

plant: Calotis scapigera lf rear DEM9516 Kroehns Landing

plant: Calotis scapigera p DEM9516 Kroehns Landing

flower: Calotis scapigera flower Chowilla

flower: Calotis scapigera Chowilla flower 1

flower: Calotis scapigera f DEM9516 Kroehns Landing

fruit: Calotis scapigera Chowilla seedhead 1

fruit: Calotis scapigera fr DEM9516 Kroehns Landing

seed: Calotis scapigera seeds Murtho NFR

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 painting: 1.

Etymology

Calotis from the Greek 'kalos' meaning beautiful and 'otos' meaning ear, after the first species named in the genus Calotis cuneifolia which has an ear-shaped pappus. Scapigera from the Latin 'scapus' meaning stem, stalk and 'gero' meaning to bear, alluding to the species leafless flower stalk.

Distribution and status

Found mainly along the River Murray in South Australia with some scattered records further north, growing chiefly in saltbush and river red gum communities, on damp clay soils in flood-prone areas. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Uncommon in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Murray, Southern Lofty, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Stoloniferous, perennial herb to 35 cm high. Basal leaves clustered, linear to lanceolate, margins entire or slightly toothed to 4 cm long and 9 mm wide. Stem leaves few, linear to lanceolate to 13 mm long and 3 mm wide. Flower-head solitary or rarely in a cyme of 2 or 3, ray florets white to lavender. Flowering between May and October. Fruits are brown round spiny fruit-head. Seeds are brown pyramidal-ovoid seed to 2 mm long with numerous hairy long spines at one end. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between August and January. Collect mature seed heads that are dried and turning brown by picking off the heads and placing them in a paper bag. Be careful as the heads are spiny. Leave the heads in the paper bag to dry for at least a week. No further cleaning required if only the heads are collected. If other material were collected, use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Whole heads can be stored with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Seeds stored:

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Location	No. of seeds (weight grams)	Number of plants	Date collected	Collection number Collection location	Date stored	% Viability	Storage temperature
MSB	10,800 (14.16 g)	30+	1-Dec-2006	RJB70703 Murray
BGA	2,300 (3.37 g)		17-Oct-2006	Murtho NFR Murray	1-Aug-2007	50%	+5°C, -18°C
BGA	230 (0.35 g)		31-Jan-2007	DJD758 Murray	1-Aug-2007	45%	-18°C
BGA	10,000 (20.65 g)	50+	11-Jan-2012	DJD2328	1-Nov-2012	71%	-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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Date	Result	T0	T50	Pre-treatment \| Germination medium \| Incubator: Photoperiod / Thermoperiod
Jun-12	58%	8	22	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid (pH 6.5); Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jun-13	58%	8	22	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid (pH 6.5); Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jun-12	42%	8	NA	1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jun-13	42%	8	NA	1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jun-13	40%	25	25	seeds excised from fruit, 400mg/L gibberellic acid 3 d; 1% agar; Incubated under winter conditions
Jun-12	38%	8	NA	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jun-13	38%	8	NA	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jun-12	16%	8	NA	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid (pH 6.5); Incubated under winter conditions
Jun-13	16%	8	NA	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid (pH 6.5); Incubated under winter conditions
Jun-12	16%	18	NA	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; Incubated under winter conditions
Jun-13	16%	18	NA	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jun-13	4%	25	NA	leached in water 3 d; 1% agar; Incubated under winter conditions
Jun-12	4%	18	NA	1% agar; Incubated under winter conditions
Jun-13	4%	18	NA	1% agar; Incubated under winter conditions

Result: Maximum percentage of germination observed.
T0: Number of days before first germinant observed.
T50: Number of days to achieve 50% germination.
Pre-treatment: The initial treatment that the seeds received prior to placement on germination media.
Germination medium: The substrate that seeds were placed on for the duration of the germination experiment.
Incubator conditions:
Photoperiod: The duration of light exposure that the seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Thermoperiod: The constant or diurnal temperatures that seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Winter conditions: 15°C 20 h (3am→11pm); 5°C 4 h (11pm→3am) / 10 h light (8am→6pm); 14 h dark (6pm→8am)
Spring/Autumn conditions: 22°C 12 h (8am→8pm); 10°C 12 h (8pm→8am) / 12 h light (8am→8pm); 12 h dark (8pm→8am)
Summer conditions: 30°C 14 h (6am→8pm); 15°C 10 h (8pm→6am) / 14 h light (6am→8pm); 10 h dark (8pm→6am)

Murray Mallee (MDD02)	Murray Darling Depression	Rare (IUCN: RA d(i,ii)) (Probable Decline) [restricted to river]
Murray Scroll Belt (RIV06)	Riverina	Rare (IUCN: RA b) (Probable Decline) [needs occasional floods]