Botanical art
Prior names
Haloragis teucrioides, partly
Etymology
Gonocarpus from the Greek 'gonia' meaning angle, corner and 'carpos' meaning fruit, referring to its ribbed fruits. Humilis means dwarf, small, referring to the small habit, compared to the other species.
Distribution and status
Found in the lower South-east in South Australia, growing in cool, damp places. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium region: South Eastern
NRM region: South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Prostrate or semi-prostrate perennial herb to 30 cm high with weakly 4-ribbed, hairy stems to 70 cm long. Leaves decussate, opposite, ovate, to 20 mm long and 12 mm wide; densely hairy, short stalk and toothed margin. Inflorescence a leafy-spike at the tip of stems, with numerous yellow-green flowers. Flowering between October and December. Fruits are small silver-grey to purplish ovoid fruit to 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide, with 8-ribbed and 3 calluses between the ribs, scabrous surface. Seeds are considered the same as the fruit.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and February. Collect maturing fruits, those that are fat and turning grey-purple, by running your hands along the fruit-spikes. Place the fruit in a tray and leave to dry for 1 to 2 weeks. No further cleaning is required if only fruits were collected. If collected with other material, 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 one collection, the seed viability was average, at 80%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA MSB | 4,500 (2.08 g) 4,500 (2.08 g) | 10 | 23-Nov-2007 | RJB75899 South Eastern | 19-Sep-2008 | 80% | +5°C, -18°C |