Botanical art
Prior names
Villarsia parnassifolia, partly
Villarsia umbricola var. umbricola
Etymology
Vallarsia named after Dominique Villars (1745-1814), a French botanist and physician. Umbricola from the Latin 'umbra' meaning shady and 'cola' meaning dwelling; referring to its habit in damp soils or shallow fresh water in semi-shaded and sheltered sites.
Distribution and status
Found on Kangaroo Island, Mount Lofty Ranges and the South-east in South Australia, growing on damp sandy or peaty soil or in shallow fresh water in semi-shaded sites of forest depressions, bogs and creek edges. Also found in Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Northern Lofty, Murray, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Non-stoloniferous, slender tufted perennial or annual herb to 105 cm high with aerial leaves (rarely floating). Leaves erect, ovate to almost circular, to 12 cm long, entire, rounded to moderately cordate at the base. Inflorescence a a lax slender panicle occupying much of the flowering stem, with large yellow flowers. This variety differ from the other variety found in South Australia, Vallarsia umbricola var. beaugleholei which have strongly tuberculated seeds. Flowering between November and April. Fruits are pale brown papery capsule to 11 mm long. Seeds are orange ellipsoid seed to 1.4 mm long and 1 mm wide, with a strongly tuberculated surface.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and May. Collect mature capsules, those that are turning a pale straw colour and contain hard seeds. Can collect individual capsules or break off the whole fruit spike. 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 three collections, the seed viability were average to high, ranging from 60% to 85%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA | 19,000 (4.18 g) | 3-Dec-2007 | RJB76052 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 85% | -18°C | |
BGA | 40,000 (6.6 g) | 50 | 4-Dec-2007 | TST250 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 70% | -18°C |
BGA MSB | 1,100 (3.85 g) 1,100 (3.85 g) | 30 | 4-Dec-2007 | TST249 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 60% | -18°C |
BGA | 3,200 (0.77 g) | 5 | 17-Jan-2018 | DJD3734 South Eastern | 30-Jun-2018 | 75% | -18°C |