Common names
Rough Logania
Etymology
Logania, named after James Logan (1674-1751), an Irish born botanist who emigrated to North America, became Governor of Pennsylvania and wrote a book on the sexuality of plants. Scabrella, from the Latin 'scaber, meaning rough to the touch, scurfy, referring to the slightly rough covering of hairs (by touch) of the branchlets
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and found only on the western end of Kangaroo Island growing in Eucalyptus remota tall-shrubland over a heath understorey on sandy loams to clayey soils, overlying laterite. Native. Rare in South Australia.
Herbarium region: Kangaroo Island
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect shrub to 1 m high, dioecious; branches sub-terete, often with two lateral ridges, densely and minutely hairy. Leaves ovate to narrow- ovate to 18 mm long and 8 mm wide; base rounded to slightly cuneate; margin slightly recurved, often with a few hairs near base; apex obtuse; lower surface glabrous. Inflorescence a terminal cluster with tiny white unisexual flowers. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are orange-brown ovoid capsule to 5 mm long and 3.5 mm wide. Seeds are shiny black long convex seed to 1.5 mm long and 0.7 mm wide, with a reticulate surface. Seed embryo type is linear, fully-developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and December. Collect maturing capsules that are fat, turning orange-brown in colour, have not open and contain hard black seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks to split. Rub the capsules gently with a rubber bung 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%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA MSB | 9,000 (1.7 g) 10,000 (1.8 g) | 80+ | 18-Nov-2015 | TST1260 Kangaroo Island | 2-May-2017 | 100% | +5°C, -18°C, -80°C |
BGA | 5,380 (1.340 g) | 30 | 6-Jan-2022 | JRG859 Kangaroo Island | 7-Jul-2022 | 100% | -18°C |