Botanical art
Prior names
Phyllanthus fuernrohrii
Common names
Sand Spurge
Etymology
Phyllanthus from the Greek 'phyllon' meaning a leaf and 'anthos' meaning a flower; referring to some foreign species where the flowers grow on the edges of dilated leaf-like branchlets. Fuernrohrii named after August Emanuel Fürnrohr (1804–1861), a German botanist and editor of the journal Flora oder Botanische Zeitung.
Distribution and status
Found scattered across the eastern side of South Australia, north of the Murray, growing on sandy soil. Also found in all mainland states except in Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Many-stemmed perennial subshrub to 40 cm high, covered in minute spreading white hairs. Leaves broad-obovate or obovate to oblong, to 29 mm long and 10 mm wide, apex obtuse. Male inflorescence 1 or 2 together on peduncles to 3 mm long with yellow-green sometimes tinged red flowers. Female inflorescence on slender peduncles to 9 mm long, solitary or with male flowers. Flowers throughout the year dependence on rainfall. Fruits are yellow-green depressed-globular capsule to 6 mm diameter, 3-lobed, hairy. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between January and December. Collect individually or break off short fruiting stems with fat capsules with hard dark seed. Green capsules can be collected if the seeds are dark and hard. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then gently rub the capsules with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieves 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.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA | 6,800 (14.27 g) | 60+ | 20-Sep-2016 | TST1310 Lake Eyre | 1-Nov-2017 | 85% | -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.