Botanical art
Prior names
Hypoxis vaginata var. vaginata
Hypoxis glabella
Common names
Large Yellow-star
Yellow Star
Sheath Star
Etymology
Pauridia from the Greek 'pauros' or 'pauron' meaning small, referring to the small habit of some species in the genus (formerly Hypoxis from the Greek 'hypo' meaning beneath and 'oxys 'meaning sharp and applied by Linnaeus in the sense of "acute beneath", referring to the fruit capsule which is contracted at the base). Vaginata from the Latin 'vaginatus' meaning protected by a sheath, referring to the bracteole sheathing the stem.
Distribution and status
Found on the Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the South-east in South Australia, growing in grassland and woodland that may be seasonally inundated. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Uncommon in South Australia. Rare in Western Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania. Common in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Glabrous herbs to 35 cm high growing each year from an underground corm (to 2 cm). Leaves linear, subulate or flat, to 35 cm long and 3.5 mm wide; margins, at least toward base, usually with irregularly spaced, small tooth-like outgrowths. Inflorescences 1–4 stalks to 35 cm long with 1-2 yellow flowers to 25 mm wide; bracteole closely sheathing the stem for the greater part and stigma lobes equal in length to, or longer than the style. Flowering between August and November. Fruits are brown ellipsoid capsule to 14 mm long, containing numerous tiny black seeds. Seeds are tiny round black seed to 1 mm long, covered in dimple-like wrinkles. Seed embryo type is linear underdeveloped.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and January. Collect mature capsules, those drying off and turning brown with black seeds inside. Slightly greener capsules can be collected if the seeds inside are fat, hard and black. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for 1-2 weeks depending on the the stage of the capsules. Then rub the capsules 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 one collection, the seed viability was average, at 75%.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 3,400 (1.17 g) 3,400 (1.17 g) | 30 | 15-Sep-2007 | RJB74280 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 75% | -18°C |
| BGA | 8,200 (2.05 g) | 50+ | 27-Oct-2016 | DJD3546 Southern Lofty | 1-Nov-2017 | 100% | -18°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.