Botanical art
Common names
Long-nosed Swamp Wallaby-grass
Etymology
Amphibromus from the Greek 'amphi' meaning about and 'bromus' near the genus Bromus. Macrorhinus from the Greek 'makros' meaning large and 'rhis' meaning nose, referring to the drawn out apex of the lemma.
Distribution and status
Found in permanent or temporarily damp areas on clay, sand or sandy loams on Eyre Peninsula, Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower Southeast. Also found in Western Australia, New South wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Western Australia and Tasmania. Common in other States.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Southern Lofty, South Eastern
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect, perennial grass to 1m tall with leaf blades to 25 cm long and 4 mm wide, glabrous to scabrous. Panicle erect, contracted to open, to 40 cm long spikelets 10-17 mm long, with 4 or 5 bisexual florets; glumes unequal to subequal; Fruits are lemma very roughly papillose, the papillae concentrated on the lower half, less dense and concentrated along the nerves towards the apex, 5.3-7.9 mm long, apex 4-toothed, the inner teeth 0.5-1.15 mm long, the outer teeth shorter, the nerves usually stopping short of the tooth apex; awn arising 50-60% of the lemma length from the tip, bent, slightly to moderately twisted, scabrous, 10-19 mm long, pale-green to a darker brown. Seeds are yellow-brown grain to 2 mm long. Seed embryo type is lateral.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and December. Use hands to gently strip seeds off the mature seed spike that are turning straw colour. Mature seeds will come off easily. Alternatively, you can break off the whole seed spike. Place the seeds/spike in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. No further cleaning is required if only seed collected. If seed spikes collected, use hand to strip off the mature seeds. 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 75%.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 4,350 (8.93 g) 4,350 (8.93 g) | 50 | 21-Dec-2007 | RJB76498A South Eastern | 19-Sep-2008 | 40% | +5°C, -18°C |
| BGA | 3,400 (5.42 g) | 100+ | 11-Nov-2009 | DJD1783 South Eastern | 1-Jun-2010 | 75% | -18°C |
| BGA | 3,100 (6.93 g) | 50+ | 22-Nov-2011 | Geegeela South Eastern | 1-Nov-2012 | 65% | -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.