Botanical art
Common names
White Sebaea
Etymology
Sebaea named after Albertus Seba (1665-1736), a Dutch apothecary and botanist. Albidiflora from the Latin 'albidus" meaning whitish and 'florus' meaning flower; referring to the species white flower.
Distribution and status
Found on the southern Eyre peninsula, southern York Peninsula and the South-east in South Australia, growing in and near saltmarsh communities along the coast and on saline ground prone to flooding away from the coast. Also found in Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Uncommon in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, South Eastern
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect annual herb to 20 cm high with simple or few branching stems. Leaves ovate to orbicular, to 10 mm long and wide, the lower ones vestigial. Inflorescence in dense terminal clusters, each flower more or less sessile in the axils of paired, leaf-like bracts, with white flowers. Flowering between September to November. Fruits are brown ovoid capsule to 5 mm long. Seeds are small diamond-shaped seed to 0.5 mm long and 0.3 mm wide, with deep wrinkles and mesh-like surface. Seed embryo type is spatulate under-developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between September and December. Collect mature capsules as they dry off and turn brown. They should contain hard brown seeds inside. Place the capsules in a tray for a week. Then rub the capsules with your fingers to dislodge all the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be careful as the seeds are very small. 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 one collection, the seed viability was high, at 85%.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA | 10,000 (0.29 g) | 50+ | 1-Oct-2007 | RJB74468 South Eastern | 19-Sep-2008 | 85% | -18°C |
| BGA | 56,300 (1.78 g) | 50+ | 11-Dec-2018 | JRG705 South Eastern | 24-Apr-2019 | 95% | -18°C, -80°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.