Plants of
South Australia
Tricostularia pauciflora
Cyperaceae
Needle Bog-sedge,
Needle Bog-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 paintings: 3

Prior names

Lepidosperma pauciflorum

Common names

Needle Bog-sedge

Needle Bog-rush

Etymology

Tricostularia from the Latin 'tres' meaning three and 'costula' meaning a little rib; referring to the 3-ribbed nut. Pauciflora from the Latin 'paucus' meaning few and 'florus' meaning flower; referring to the paucity of flowering.

Distribution and status

Found in the Fleurieu Peninsula and in the lower South-east in South Australia, growing in damp heath particularly in low lying swales and depressions with damp sands that would saturate in winter. Also found in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Tasmania. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, South Eastern
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Small tufted perennial sedge to 50 cm high yellow-green, wiry terete stems emerging from a basal clump. Flowers solitary or 2 or 3 in a terminal cluster. Flowering between December and February. Fruits are short red-brown spike at terminal of stems. Seeds are three-sided dark brown ovoid seed to 2.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide with scattered hairs on the surface. Seed embryo type is capitate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and March. Collect heads that are fat, turning brown and containing hard 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 two collections, the seed viability were average to high, ranging from 70% 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
 
MSB

1,000 (0.91 g)
50+24-Oct-2006MJT20
South Eastern
BGA480 (0.8 g)1018-Nov-2009TST885
Southern Lofty
1-Jun-201070%-18°C
BGA210 (0.48 g)611-Dec-2009Comaum NFR
South Eastern
1-Jun-2010100%-18°C
BGA400 (0.35 g)65-Nov-2014DJD1477
Southern Lofty
2-May-2017N/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.
Germination table:
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