Plants of
South Australia
South Australia
Botanical art
Etymology
Helichrysum from the Greek 'helios' meaning sun and 'chrysos' meaning gold, alluding to the yellow patent laminae of the involucres of some everlastings. Leucopsideum from Greek meaning white, referring to the appearance of the species.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern South Australia, growing on deep sand in mallee vegetation or coastal scrub. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Nullarbor, Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Deep-rooted perennial herb to 50 cm tall with a woody rhizome or rootstock. Stems several, branched or unbranched; erect to ascending, with sparse to moderately-dense woolly-cobwebby hairs and scattered, inconspicuous glandular hairs. Leaves linear-elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate or linear, with narrowly recurved margins, to 50 mm long and 5 mm wide; upper side sparsely cobwebby-hairy, underside densely woolly-cobwebby with scattered minute glandular hairs on both sides. Flower-heads terminal, usually solitary on long leafy stems or sometimes 2 or 3 in an open cluster with white daisy flowers. Flowering between October and December. Fruits are white, dry, papery daisy-head. Seeds are brown oblong seed to 2.5 mm long and 0.8 mm wide, with pappus to 4-times the seed length. Seed embryo type is spathulate.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between December and February. Collect whole heads that are drying off and fluffy or collect just the seeds by plucking it off with your fingers. Mature seeds are easily removed. Place the heads in a tray for a week to dry. Then pluck the seeds from the head with your finders. Viable seeds will be fat 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. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 10,685 (6.62 g) 10,685 (6.62 g) | 100+ | 16-Dec-2003 | PJA64 Yorke Peninsula | 23-Mar-2006 | -18°C |
