Botanical art
Prior names
Scirpus antarcticus
Isolepis cartilaginea
Scirpus marginatus
Scirpus cartilagineus
Common names
Coarse Club-rush
Little Club-rush
Etymology
Isolepis, from the Greek 'isos' meaning equal and 'lepis', meaning scale, referring to the glumes. Marginata from the Latin 'marginatus', meaning enclosed with a border.
Distribution and status
Found across the southern part of South Australia, growing in damp places. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Introduced to South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales and part of Victoria. Native in Tasmania and part of Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, 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
Small tufted annual sedge, to 8 cm, sometimes to 2 cm high. Stems setaceous; leaves usually well-developed, setaceous, shorter than the stems; bract 1, erect or spreading, longer than the spikelets. Spikelets 1-6 in a single cluster; ovoid or oblong, prominently angular, to 4 mm long; few-flowered; glumes boat-shaped, to 2 mm long, incurved, rigid; keel unusually stout, green, the sides shining, each with 4-6 curved nerves and a bright-brown or purplish-brown patch. Flowering between September and January. Fruits are few brown ovoid fruit-head in clusters at the end of stems. Seeds are light-brown ovoid-triangular seed to 0.8 mm long and 0.8 mm wide with a smooth surface. Seed embryo type is capitate.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and March. Collect fruits by picking off the mature heads, those turning brown and 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 brown 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.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA | 14,200 (3.44 g) | 50 | 1-Oct-2007 | RJB74633 South Eastern | 19-Sep-2008 | 100% | -18°C |