Prior names
Mitrasacme paradoxa, partly
Common names
Rock Mitrewort
Etymology
Phylangium from the Greek 'phyllon' meaning a leaf and 'angion' meaning a vessel, referring to the foliate involucre surrounding the flowers. Sulcatum from the Latin 'sulcatus' meaning grooved, furrowed or channelled, alluding to the grooves on the surface of the seed.
Distribution and status
Found on northern Eyre Peninsula and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, growing in sheltered, rocky areas on shallow soils overlaying rock. Also found in Western Australia and New South Wales. Known in Victoria from a single specimen collected in 1853 and labelled simply 'Grampians', now presumed extinct. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in New South Wales. Common in Western Australia. Presumed extinct in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Annual, erect herb to 17 cm high, with weak, terete and glabrous branches. Leaves to 13 mm long and 4 mm wide; elliptic, ovate or narrowly ovate; glabrous or with a few hairs; margin flat, apex acute. Flowers in groups on very long stalk in upper axils, white. Flowering between August and November. Fruits are pale brown , semi-flat capsule to 2.5 mm long. Seeds are black ovoid seed to 0.75 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, with deep wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is linear under-developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between September and December. Collect maturing capsules, those that are fat, turning a straw colour and contain hard black seeds or collect whole stems with many maturing capsules. Place the capsules/stems in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the capsules/stems gently by hand or with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be very careful as the seeds are very small. 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 | 6,000 (0.52 g) 6,000 (0.5 g) | 100+ | 20-Sep-2008 | DJD1599 Eyre Peninsula | 1-Jun-2010 | 100% | +5°C, -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.