Botanical art
Prior names
Lhotzkya glaberrima
Lhotzkya glaberrima var. magnisepala
Calytrix sp. A
Common names
Smooth Fringe-myrtle
Smooth Heath-myrtle
Etymology
Calytrix from the Greek 'kalyx' meaning calyx and 'thrix' meaning hair, referring to the awns on the sepals. Glaberrima means most glabrous, referring to the species being devoid of hairs.
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and found on Kangaroo Island and the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, growing in heath. Native. Uncommon in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Small woody shrub to 1 m tall with tiny, smooth leaves to 5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide. Inflorescence in small leafy spike, with white and pink tinged flowers. Flowering in spring and summer. Fruits are pale brown cone-shaped fruit with fan-like wings around the tip. Seeds are a small ovoid seed sits in the cone section of the fruit. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between December and March. Collect heads by hand when they are brown and slightly fat at the base. This should contain small hard seed. No cleaning is required if only the fruits were collected. If collected with other material, 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. Seed set and seed viability can be low. Seed viability can be low.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 48,000 (19.05 g) 9,500 (5.56 g) | 50+ | 18-Jan-2006 | DJD345 Southern Lofty | 7-Aug-2006 | 15% | -18°C |
| MSB | 18,600 (13.51 g) | 30-40 | 13-Nov-2006 | DJD659 Kangaroo Island | |||
| BGA | 71,500 (44.940 g) | 200 | 7-Jan-2020 | JRG730 Southern Lofty | 24-Jun-2020 | 85% | -18°C, -80°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.