Plants of
South Australia
Teucrium racemosum
Lamiaceae
Grey germander
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
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Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 2

Prior names

Teucrium racemosum var. triflorum

Common names

Grey germander

Etymology

Teucrium from the Greek teucrion, name used by Dioscorides possibly after Teucer, a Trojan king who used the plant as a medicine. Racemosum refers to the flowers in racemes (undivided axis or peduncle bearing flowers).

Distribution and status

Found across South Australia except for Kangaroo Island and the Far West. Also occurs in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Perennial shrub to 50cm tall with quadrangular stems covered in white hairs. Leaves are lance-shaped with wavy margins. Flowers are large and white with five petals, one larger at the bottom. Flowers most of the year. Fruits are capsules with up to four segments, each containing a seed. Seeds are small pale brown convex seeds less than 2mm long, covered in hairs and with a plug at one end. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and April. Collect capsules that are large, hard and turning brown. These will contain developed seeds. Collect more than required as some of the seeds will be empty and not viable. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the capsules gently with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds from the capsules. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Some seeds will be empty. Use an aspirator to siphon off the lighter, non-viable seeds from the heavier good seeds. 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.

Germination table:
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We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.