Plants of
South Australia
Chthonocephalus pseudevax
Asteraceae
Ground-heads
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
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Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
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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: 2

Etymology

Chthonocephalus from the Greek 'khthonos' meaning ground and 'kephale' meaning head, referring to the inflorescences which rest on the ground. Pseudevax from the Greek 'pseudo' meaning false and 'evax' a genus in the Family Compositae, alluding to the flower heads being similar to the genus Evax.

Distribution and status

Found across much of South Australia, growing in open sites in both temperate and arid habitats, most often in sand or sandy loam depressions. Also found in all mainland States. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Southern Lofty
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Very small ground-hugging herb consisting of a compound head, surrounded by a basal rosette to 4 cm in diameter with10-30 leaves. Leaves oblanceolate to obovate, to 20 mm long and 4 mm wide, tomentose. Flower dense yellow daisies. Flowers throughout the year but mainly during spring. Fruits are yellow-brown dense compact daisy-head. Seeds are very small brown ovoid seed to 0.5 mm long and 0.2 mm wide. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between January and December. Collect whole plants that are drying off, pale yellow-brown in colour and contain fine brown seeds. Place the plants 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. Be care 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. Seed viability is usually high. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Germination table:
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We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.