Plants of
South Australia
Wurmbea australis
Colchicaceae
Inland Star-lily,
Inland Nancy
Display all 21 images
Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
Enlarge Map
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Botanical art

Kath Alcock painting: 1

Prior names

Anguillaria dioica, partly

Wurmbea centralis ssp. australis

Common names

Inland Star-lily

Inland Nancy

Etymology

Wurmbea name after Friedrick Wilhelm von Wurmb, merchant and botanist in 18th century Batavia (Jakarta). Australis means of or from the south; referring to the more southern distribution of the species.

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia and found in the central part of the state, growing among rock outcrops . Native. Common in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Robust decumbent herb to 20 cm tall. Leaves 3 to 10 cm long and 24 mm wide, broad, leathery and easily recognisable even when not in flower. Inflorescence spike with 1-5 large bright pink flowers. Flowering between May and August. Fruits are pale brown box-like capsule to 25 mm long. Largest of any Australian Wurmbea. Seeds are orange brown globular seed to 2 mm diameter. Seed embryo type is linear under-developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between August and October. Collect mature capsules, those turning pale straw colour and containing hard brown seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently by hand 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 high, at 100%.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
2,600 (12.8 g)
2,600 (12.8 g)
100+8-Sep-2006DJD564
Flinders Ranges
1-Aug-200790%-18°C
BGA6,100 (24.01 g)100+20-Sep-2009DJD1597
Eyre Peninsula
1-Jun-2010100%-18°C
BGA1,030 (1.49 g)50+28-Nov-2016Aligator Gorge
Flinders Ranges
1-Nov-2017100%-18°C
BGA850 (0.83 g)1001-Oct-2019JRG721
Flinders Ranges
24-Jun-2020100%-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:
  Display