Plants of
South Australia
Isolepis australiensis
Cyperaceae
Southern Club-sedge,
Southern Club-rush
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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

Prior names

Scirpus multicaulis, nom.illeg., non Sm.(1800)

Scirpus cernuus var. australiensis

Scirpus australiensis

Common names

Southern Club-sedge

Southern Club-rush

Etymology

Isolepis, from the Greek 'isos, meaning equal and 'lepis', meaning scale, referring to the glumes. Australiensis, means of or from the south, referring to the distribution of the species in Australia.

Distribution and status

Found scattered across the eastern half of South Australia, growing in damp places, especially near the edge of the water. Also found in all mainland States. Native. Common in South Australia. Uncommon in Western Australia, Northern territory and Victoria. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Small slender annual sedge with stems solitary or tufted. Leaves to 10 cm long; bract erect or spreading, mostly longer than the spikelets and to 10 mm long. Spikelets, 1-4 but usually 2 or 3; pale or brownish; ovoid or oblong, angled, to 4 mm long; glumes rather spreading; mucronate, with a broad green keel; sides thin, hyaline, nerveless or each with one faint nerve. Flowers throughout the year. Fruits are few brown ovoid fruit-head in clusters at the end of stems. Seeds are black ovoid-triangular seed to 0.5 mm long and 0.4 mm wide with a fine pitted surface. Seed embryo type is capitate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between January and December. Collect fruits by picking off the mature heads; those turning brown and that come-off easily. 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. Be careful, as the seeds are very small. Seeds are black and hard. 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 one collection, the seed viability was average, at 65%.

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		23,900 (0.35 g)
23,900 (0.35 g)		4-Apr-2007RJB71354
Eastern		1-Aug-200765%-18°C
BGA39,000 (1.56 g)1-Sep-2016DJD3404
Lake Eyre		1-Nov-201790%-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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We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.