Botanical art
Prior names
Hibbertia prostrata
Common names
Bundled Guinea-flower
Etymology
Hibbertia, named after George Hibbert (1757-1837), a London merchant who maintained a private botanic garden at Chelsea. Fasciculata from the Latin fasciculus, meaning fascicle or bundle, referring to the lateral branches.
Distribution and status
Found on Kangaroo Island and in the South-east in South Australia, growing on sandy soils in heathland, heathy woodland and mallee communities. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Uncommon in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Kangaroo Island, South Eastern
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Spreading to decumbent shrubs with usually glabrous branches to 0.5 m long; lateral branches usually fascicled, covered with forward-directed straight or crisped simple hairs. Leaves linear, to 21.4 mm long and 0.7 mm wide; glabrous, puberulous or rarely tomentose; apex obtuse, erect to somewhat recurved; margins often recurved; lower surface usually strongly convex with central vein hidden. Flowers bright yellow, sessile, terminal, mainly on short shoots, with 2 triangular bracts. Flowering between September and December. Fruits are brown capsule with 3 carpels; glabrous. Seeds are brown, globular seed to 1.6 mm diameter.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and February. Collect mature capsules that are turning a pale straw colour and contain brown seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the capsules 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. This genus tends to have low seed viability. From one collection, the seed viability was low, at 30%. This species has morpho-physiological dormancy and can be difficult to germinate.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 3,000 (2.71 g) 3,000 (2.71 g) | 50 | 12-Dec-2006 | TST134 Kangaroo Island | 1-Aug-2007 | 30% | -18°C |
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.