Botanical art
Common names
Prickly Honeypots
Ridged Ground-berry
Etymology
Acrotriche from the Greek 'akron' meaning summit and 'thrix' meaning hair, alluding to the tuft of hairs at the tip the corolla lobes. Affinis from Latin meaning related or allied to or similar to another species.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern part of South Australia, from the Nullarbor to the Murray River, growing on sandy soils in heath and mallee communities, and in clay swales between high sand dunes. Also found in Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Common in South Australia. Uncommon in Tasmania. Common in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect, much-branched shrub to 100 cm high, with young branches pale-grey or grey-brown and older stems grey. Leaves spreading or reflexed, broadly lanceolate, to 11 mm long and 2.5 mm wide, mucronate, flat to convex, glabrous or scabrous above the base, lower surface paler with unbranched sub-parallel veins separated by narrow, deep grooves. Flowers in a spike with 4-10 green, or green with maroon-tinged flowers growing on previous season's or older wood. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are fleshy globular fruit to 4 mm long, white when ripen. Seeds are pale yellow-brown, woody, globular to 2.5 mm diameter. Seed embryo type is linear underdeveloped.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and December. Lift branches carefully to locate the fruits. Collect berries that are turning creamy white and soft, with a hard seed inside. Place the berries in a bucket of water and rub the flesh off with your hands. Drain the water and wash again if required to remove all the flesh. Then spread the wet seeds on some paper towel and leave to dry. 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. Seed viability can be medium to high for this species. This species is generally difficult to germinate, it has morphophysiological dormancy and complex germination requirements.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSB | 1,700 (15.17 g) | 30-40 | 29-Nov-2006 | DJD697 Northern Lofty |
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.