Plants of
South Australia
Alyogyne huegelii
Malvaceae
Lilac Hibiscus,
Native Hibiscus
Display all 15 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 paintings: 4

Prior names

Hibiscus wrayae, partly

Hibiscus huegelii var. wrayae

Hibiscus huegelii

Common names

Lilac Hibiscus

Native Hibiscus

Etymology

Alyogyne from the Greek 'alytos' meaning undivided and 'gyne' meaning woman, referring to the undivided style. Huegelii named after Baron Carl von Hugel (1795-1870), an Austrian traveller, plant collector and patron of horticulture. He collected plants in Western Australia in 1833 and also in the Philippines.

Distribution and status

Found mainly across the Eyre Peninsula and the Southern Flinders Ranges with an isolated collection from the northwest region; grows on a variety of soil types and habitats. Also found in Western Australia. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in Western Australia.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Yorke Peninsula
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Erect perennial shrub to 2 m tall, with 3-5 deeply lobed hand-liked leaves covered in hairs. Inflorescence large solitary white, cream, red, blue or purple flower. Flowering between June and January. Fruits are hairy brown papery ovoid capsule containing a few seeds. Seeds are segmented brown seed to 4 mm long and covered in short brown hairs. Seed embryo type is folded.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and February. Collect capsules that are drying off and starting to turn brown. The seed inside should be brown and hard. Place the capsules into a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the capsules 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 two collections, the seed viability was average to high, ranging from 60% to 85%. This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking or softening the seed coat).

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA9,900 (59.91 g)7023-Nov-2004PJA89
Eyre Peninsula		28-Mar-200685%-18°C
BGA 
MSB		6,000 (36 g)
6,000 (36 g)		507-Dec-2004DJD68
Eyre Peninsula		28-Mar-200660%-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
We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.