Plants of
South Australia
Triglochin nana
Juncaginaceae
Dwarf Arrowgrass
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
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Keith
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 7

Prior names

Triglochin centrocarpum, orth.var., partly

Triglochin nanum, orth.var.

Triglochin centrocarpa var. brevicarpa

Triglochin centrocarpum var. nanum

Triglochin centrocarpum, orth.var., partly

Etymology

Triglochin from the Greek 'treis' meaning three and 'glochis' meaning a point; referring to its three-sided carpels. Nana from the Latin 'nanus' meaning dwarf; referring to its small stature.

Distribution and status

Found across South Australia, growing in edge of claypans, within intermittent watercourses and run-on areas, edge of salt lakes and Chenopod-rich plains and shallow seasonal or ephemeral wetlands. Also found in Western Australia, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Uncommon in New South Wales.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Slender annual herb, to 12 cm high. Leaves flat and thread-like, to 6 cm long, shorter than the inflorescence. Inflorescence an erect or ascending spike to 5.5 cm long, fruiting part at the top to 3 cm long, with 3–24 fruits. Flowering July to October. Fruits are reddish-green almost linear but tapering to the summit fruit to 6 mm long and 1.2 mm wide just above base, on a long stalk with six seed segments (carpels), 3 fertile alternating with 3 undeveloped sterile ones. Seeds are reddish-green narrow wedge-shaped seed to 6 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, with 2 short, downwards-pointing spurs at the base. Seed embryo type is linear.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between August and November. Collect mature fruits either by breaking off individual spikes or by removing plants that are drying off with fruits that are reddish-green and seed segments coming apart easily. Place the fruit spikes in a tray and leave to dry for 1 to 2 weeks. Then rub the dried fruit spikes 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.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

2,700 (2.05 g)
40+18-Sep-2007PJL2565
South Eastern
80%
BGA10,000 (1.93 g)50+1-Sep-2016DJD3399
Lake Eyre
1-Nov-201790%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
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.
Germination table:
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