Botanical art
Prior names
Ammannia auriculata, partly
Ammannia australasica
Common names
Jerry-jerry
Etymology
Ammannia named after Johannes Ammann (1707-1741), a Swiss botanist, Fellow of the Royal Society of London and Professor of botany at St Petersburg. Multiflora from the Latin 'multus' meaning many and 'floris' meaning flower.
Distribution and status
Found in the north-eastern part and alon gthe Murray River in South Australia, growing on flood plains of rivers and creeks. Also found in all mainland states. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Murray
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect, rigidly-branched herb with 4-angled stems, up to 60 cm high. Leaves narrow-oblong to lanceolate to 50 mm long and 8 mm wide, upper surface minutely scabrous. Peduncles up to 6 mm long. Flowers pink to purple. Flowers throughout the year. Fruits are reddish, papery globular capsule to 2 mm diameter. Seeds are very small concave brown seed to 0.4 mm long and 0.4 mm wide.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between January and December. Fruit can be collected all year round but is dependent on rainfall. Collect mature capsules, those that are turning reddish brown in colour and contain brown seeds. Whole stem containing many clusters of fruit can be collected. 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. 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 two collections, the seed viability were high, at 100%. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 325,000 (5.9 g) 325,000 (5.9 g) | 8-May-2007 | RJB71589 Lake Eyre | 1-Aug-2007 | 100% | -18°C | |
| BGA | 389,000 (5.14 g) | 30 | 26-Sep-2007 | DJD871 Lake Eyre | 19-Sep-2008 | 100% | -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.