Cardamine gunnii

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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Cardamine from the Greek 'kardamon' a name given by Dioscorides for a species of cress, an Indian spice and derived from the Greek 'cardia' meaning heart and 'damaein' meaning to blind, alluding to the reputed heart-strengthening effects of the plant. Gunnii named after Ronald Campbell Gunn (1808-1881), a British botanist and legislator in Launceston, Tasmania.

Found in the lower South-east in South Australia, growing in moist habitats. Currently known only from one Native Forest Reserve in lowland redgum swamps. Was also known from Victoria and Tasmania but assumed extinct in those states. Native. Very rare in South Australia. Presumed extinct in the other States.
Herbarium region: South Eastern
NRM region: South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

A small weak annual herb to 25 cm high arising from a thick, tuberous perennial tubestock. It has a basal rosette of discolourous lobed leaves and an erect stem of small white flowers. Flowering between August and September. Fruits are long pale brown pods to 5 cm in length, splitting into two. Seeds are small yellow flat reniform seeds to 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide. Seed embryo type is bent.

Collect seeds between September and November. Collect maturing pods those turning pale brown with yellow seeds inside. Be gentle with the pods as they split open easily. Place the pods in a tray and cover with paper to prevent seeds from popping out and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the dried pods gently by hand 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. From two collections, the seed viability was average to high, ranging from 75% to 100%. This species has physiological dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

Location	No. of seeds (weight grams)	Number of plants	Date collected	Collection number Collection location	Date stored	% Viability	Storage temperature
BGA MSB	2,700 (0.5 g) 2,700 (0.5 g)	50+	28-Oct-2008	DJD1187 South Eastern	20-Jul-2009	100%	+5°C, -18°C
BGA	9,300 (1.65 g)		10-Sep-2009	DJD1551 South Eastern	1-Jan-2012	90%	-18°C
BGA	2,500 (0.44 g)	30+	28-Sep-2013	DJD2237 South Eastern	24-Mar-2015	75%	+5°C, -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.

Date	Result	T0	T50	Pre-treatment \| Germination medium \| Incubator: Photoperiod / Thermoperiod
May-09	76%	21	63	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; / 8 weeks spring/autumn, 5 weeks winter
May-10	70%	7	33	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid (pH 6.5); Incubated under winter conditions
May-10	26%	11	NA	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; Incubated under winter conditions
May-09	20%	63	NA	1% agar; / 7 weeks spring/autumn, 3 weeks winter
May-10	12%	11	NA	1% agar; Incubated under winter conditions
May-10	10%	15	NA	1% agar with 100 mg/L potassium nitrate; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
May-10	10%	15	NA	1% agar with 250 mg/L gibberellic acid (pH 6.5); Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
May-10	0%	NA	NA	1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn 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)