Botanical art
Prior names
Loudonia behrii
Etymology
Glischrocaryon from the Greek 'glischros' meaning gluey, clammy, slippery and 'caryon' meaning a nut, referring erroneously to the genus having succulent fruit when it was thought to belong to the Family Santalaceae, several species of which do have succulent fruits. Behrii named after Hermann H. Behr (1818-1904), a German-American doctor, entomologist and botanist, who collected in South Australia.
Distribution and status
Found in southern South Australia from the Eyre Peninsula to the upper South-east growing in mallee communities on deep sandy soils. Also found in New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in New South Wales. Common in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect, perennial herb to 50 cm high, with numerous stems to 2 mm diameter, often becoming almost leafless. Leaves terete to linear or narrow-lanceolate to 25 mm long and 2 mm wide, often deciduous. Inflorescence ln terminal clusters with 7-63 yellow flowers. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are yellow or reddish papery obovate fruit to 10 mm long with two wings. Seeds are reddish-brown semi-flat ovoid seed to 3 mm long and 1.5 mm wide.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and December. Collect fruit that has developed wings and the seed in the middle is hard. Place the fruit in a tray and leave to dry for a week or two. Seeds can be stored with the wings or you can rub the dried fruit 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 one collection, the seed viability was low, at 35%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA MSB | 4,900 (9.55 g) 4,900 (9.55 g) | 100+ | 30-Nov-2005 | DJD265 South Eastern | 1-Aug-2006 | 35% | -18°C |