Plants of
South Australia
Gahnia sieberiana
Cyperaceae
Red-fruit Saw-sedge,
Red-fruit Cutting-grass
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
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Oodnadatta
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Keith
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Gahnia sieberana, orth.var.

Cladium psittacorum, partly

Gahnia psittacorum, partly

Gahnia tetragonocarpa

Common names

Red-fruit Saw-sedge

Red-fruit Cutting-grass

Etymology

Gahnia named after Dr. Henricus Gahn, 19th century Swedish botanist and student of Linnaeus. Sieberiana named after Franz Wilhelm Sieber (1789-1844), a Bohemian botanist and collector who travelled to Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and Australia.

Distribution and status

Found on Kangaroo Island, southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower South-east in South Australia, growing in damp to wet sites in swamps, heathlands and forest. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales , Victoria, Tasmania, New Guinea and New Caledonia. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Tall, tussock-forming perennial sedge with culms to 2.5 m high and 50 mm diameter. Leaf-blades flat, recurved, scabrous, about as long as culm. Inflorescence erect or somewhat spreading, to 100 cm long, brown to black. Flowers in spring and summer. Seeds are red three-sided, (trigonous) ovoid seed to 4 mm long and 2 mm wide, smooth and shiny. Seed embryo type is capitate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and March. Collect heads that are dying off and turning brown with obvious hard red seeds. Place the heads in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the heads with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate any 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 three collections, the seed viability was high, ranging from 80% to 100%.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
31,800 (143.4 g)
31,800 (143.4 g)
5015-Dec-2004MKJ53
Kangaroo Island
28-Mar-2006100%-18°C
BGA35,000 (153.94 g)20+12-Feb-2008Cleland CP
Southern Lofty
20-Jul-200980%-18°C
BGA21,700 (88.26 g)23-Jan-2008DJD1044
Southern Lofty
20-Jul-200985%-18°C
BGA2,100 (8.78 g)5-Jan-2012Bryan Haywood
South Eastern
1-Nov-201260%-18°C
BGA15,800 (68.46 g)30+23-Feb-2016DJD3335
Southern Lofty
2-May-201735%-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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