Plants of
South Australia
Kunzea pomifera
Myrtaceae
Muntries,
Pink Buttons
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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
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 2

Common names

Muntries

Pink Buttons

Etymology

Kunzea, named in honour of Dr. Gustav Kunze (1793-1851), a professor of medicine and botany in Leipzig, Germany who worked on Preiss' collection of Australian plants from 1844 to 1848. Pomifera, from the Latin 'pomum' meaning apple and 'ferre', meaning to bear, alluding to the species bearing small apple-like fruits.

Distribution and status

Found on Yorke Peninsula, Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo island and the South-east in South Australia, growing on sandy soil, often with limestone. Also found in Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Spreading perennial shrub with prostrate stems. Leaves are ovoid and green. Stems are reddish in colour. Flowers are a creamy colour, in clusters at the tip of stems, appearing in spring and summer. Fruits are edible, fleshy, purple, round fruit to 15mm long, containing numerous seeds. Seeds are small light brown seeds to 2mm long.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between December and March. Collect maturing fruits; those turning purplish and soft. Place the fruits in a tray and leave to dry for 2-3 weeks. Then rub the dried fruit gently to dislodge the seeds from the opening on the bottom of the fruit. 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 one collection, the seed viability was high, at 92%. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
3,300 (1.65 g)
3,600 (1.65 g)
100+21-Jan-2005MKJ73
South Eastern
31-Mar-200692%-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:
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