Botanical art
Common names
Matted Water Starwort
Etymology
Callitriche from the Greek 'kallos' meaning beautiful and 'thrix' or 'trikhos' meaning hair; referring to the beautiful hairy stems. Sonderi named after Dr. Otto Wilhelm Sonder (1812-1881), a German botanist, pharmacist and editor of Flora Capensis.
Distribution and status
Found in the far north-east, Murray River and the South-east in South Australia, growing on river flood plains or other places subject to periodic inundation. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Very rare in Tasmania. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Murray, South Eastern
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Mostly terrestrial, mat-forming herb. Leaves linear-obovate, to 5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, obscurely 3-veined. Upper leaves not rosetted. Flowers usually paired, a male and female together in opposite axils. Bracteoles linear-triangular, to 0.5 mm long, deciduous, stamen to 1 mm long, not elongating as fruit ripens, filament shorter than ripe fruit, styles erect, to 0.3 mm long, persistent. Fruits are dark-brown to greyish fruit, almost cordate in outline, to 0.6 mm long and 0.8 mm wide, keeled and only very weakly winged. Seeds are tiny dark brown to black ovoid seed to 0.6 mm long and 0.4 mm wide, with a wrinkled surface.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between January and December. Collect mature capsules, those that are turning a pale straw colour and contain hard seeds. Can collect individual capsules or break off the whole stems. 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.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 44,000 (1.76 g) 44,000 (1.76 g) | 100+ | 3-Sep-2015 | DJD3179 Lake Eyre | 2-May-2017 | 90% | +5°C, -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.