Etymology
Swainsona named after Isaac Swainson (1746-1812, an English scientist and horticulturalist who had a private botanic garden near London. Fuscoviridis from the Latin 'fuscus' meaning dark and 'viridis' meanining green; referring to the dark colour of vegetative parts in dried material.
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and confined to an area west of Broken Hill. Native. Very rare in South Australia.
Herbarium region: Eastern
NRM region: South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
An erect or prostrated perennial herb to 25cm high with numerous hair stems arising from a taproot. Leaves to 6cm long with 7-9 hairy, elliptic to linear or obovate leaflets. Flowers purple on densely often dark stalk. Fruits are hairy, leather dark pod to 14mm long. Seeds are orang/brown mottled, semi-flat reniform seeds to 2mm long with a wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is bent.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and November. Collect mature pods, those turning black and contain hard seeds. Mature pods can be found lying on the ground next to the plant. Place the pods in a tray and leave to dry for a week. When dried the pods can become hard and difficult to open. Use a rubber bung to rub the pods or break the pods open with your fingers 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. From two collections, the seed viability were high, ranging from 90% to 95%. This species has physical dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking or softening the seed coat).
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA MSB | 9,800 (22.35 g) 4,900 (11.17 g) | 100+ | 21-Oct-2008 | MJT176 Eastern | 20-Jul-2009 | 90% | -18°C |
BGA | 8,000 (18.58 g) | 50+ | 21-Oct-2008 | DJD1164 Eastern | 20-Jul-2009 | 95% | -18°C |