Leionema equestre

Rutaceae

Saddle-leaf Phebalium,

Kangaroo Island Phebalium

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plant: Leionema equestre plant Stokes Bay KI

plant: Leionema equestre TST1213 plant leaves Hogs Bay Road 3

plant: Leionema equestre cages plants Stokes Bay KI

plant: Leionema equestre plant habitat near Stokes Bay KI

plant: Leionema equestre plant habitat Stokes Bay KI

flower: Leionema equestre TST1213 flower Hogs Bay Road 2

fruit: Leionema equestre fr Denzel Murfet KI

fruit: Leionema equestre fruit Kangaroo Is

fruit: Leionema equestre frt Denzel Murfet KI

animal: Leionema equestre animal Denzel Murfet KI

seed: Leionema equestre Seed Barretts Road Kangaroo Island

seed: Leionema equestre Seeds Barretts Road Kangaroo Island

seedling: Leionema equestre sdlg Denzel Murfet Stokes Bay

seedling: Leionema equestre sdlng Denzel Murfet Stokes Bay

seedling: Leionema equestre seed germinating Kangaroo Is

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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Prior names

Phebalium equestre

Common names

Saddle-leaf Phebalium

Kangaroo Island Phebalium

Etymology

Leionema, from the Greek 'leios', meaning smooth and 'nema', meaning thread, referring to the 'hilar strand', which is a small piece of tissue joining the hilum (scar on the side of the seed) to the ovule. Esquestre, from the Latin 'equester', meaning belonging to cavalry or to horsemen, referring to its saddle-shaped leaves.

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia and restricted to a small area on Kangaroo Island, growing on sandy soils and lateritic soil in Eucalyptus diversifolia and E. cneorifolia mallee. Native. Very rare in South Australia.
Herbarium region: Kangaroo Island
NRM region: Kangaroo Island
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Dwarf, spreading shrub to 30 cm high with repeatedly diverging branches; branchlets slender, smooth, green or becoming reddish; pubescent with stellate hairs. Leaves very shortly petiolate; patent, saddle-shaped; tranversely oblong- cordate to 3.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide; dotted with depressed glands. Scabrous above, glabrous below; margins entire, recurved. Inflorescence, terminal cluster with 1 to 3 white to pink flowers. Flowering between August and October Fruits are pale brown, warty, two-segmented capsule to 3 mm long. Seeds are brown bean-like seed to 3 mm long and 2 mm wide; smooth. Seed embryo type is linear fully-developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and February. Collect mature capsules; those that are turning a pale straw colour and containing hard seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for a weeks. The seed pods split apart when fully ripe, so timing of seed collections is important. Monitor fruits closely and either collect the pods close to maturity (when they turn brown), or bag maturing fruits. 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. Seed viability can be variable depending at which stage the seed was collected. This species has morpho-physiological dormancy and can be difficult to germinate.

Fire Response

Obligate re-seeder, only tiny seedlings noted emerging in fire scars and no re-sprouting observed.

Longevity: >15 years

Time to flowering: 3-4 years

Recovery work

In 2020-2021 this species was assessed post-fire in 1 year and 2 year old fire scars. A total of 1,300 seeds have been collected & banked for a population outside the 2020 fire scar along Barrett Road. Further populations will be assessed and seeds collected on Kangaroo Island in 2021–2022. Germination screening testing the response to fire cues will be undertaken in 2021.This project was supported by the Project phoenix program.

Seeds stored:

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Location	No. of seeds (weight grams)	Number of plants	Date collected	Collection number Collection location	Date stored	% Viability	Storage temperature
BGA MSB	1,387 (5.6 g) 1,387 (5.6 g)	104	19-Feb-2003	PJA43 Kangaroo Island	1-Sep-2004	80%	-18°C
BGA	1,300 (6.17 g)	56	9-Dec-2003	PJA61 Kangaroo Island	1-Sep-2004		+5°C, -18°C
BGA	1,500 (5.31 g)	40	19-Feb-2003	PJA44 Kangaroo Island	1-Sep-2004	55%	+5°C, -18°C
BGA	2,400 (10.12 g)	50+	16-Nov-2015	TST1213 Kangaroo Island	2-May-2017	100%	-18°C, -80°C
BGA	1,100 (3.93 g)	50+	13-Dec-2016	DJD3562 Kangaroo Island	1-Nov-2017	70%	-18°C
BGA	1,300 (6.810 g)	50+	15-Dec-2020	DJD3975 Kangaroo Island	28-Jun-2021	94%	-18°C
BGA	1,270 (6.680 g)		27-Dec-2021	JRG868 Kangaroo Island	7-Jul-2022	65%	-18°C
BGA	1,400 (5.49 g)	50+	12-Dec-2016	JRG544 Kangaroo Island	7-Jul-2022	70%	-18°C
BGA	242 (1.02 g)	20+	17-Jan-2017	TST1213 Kangaroo Island	7-Jul-2022	86%	-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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Date	Result	T0	T50	Pre-treatment \| Germination medium \| Incubator: Photoperiod / Thermoperiod
Jun-17	33%	14	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide for 10 min, water rinse, 500 mg/L gibberellic acid + 10% smoke water for 24 h; 1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jul-16	23%	42	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 20 min, water rinse, 500 mg/L gibberellic acid 24 h; 1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jul-16	23%	42	NA	dry heat 90Â°C oven 15 min, 30% hydrogen peroxide 20 min, water rinse, 10% smoke water + 500 mg/L gibberellic acid 24 h; 1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jun-17	17%	14	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide for 10 min, water rinse, 500 mg/L gibberellic acid for 24 h; 1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jul-16	3%	49	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 20 min, water rinse; 1% agar; Incubated under winter conditions
Jul-04	2%	54	NA	seed coat nicked with scalpel, 20% hydrogen peroxide 10 min, water rinse; filter paper over moist sponge; 14/10; / 20Â°C/10Â°C
Jul-04	2%	47	NA	20% hydrogen peroxide 10 min, water rinse; filter paper over moist sponge; 14/10; / 20Â°C/10Â°C
Jul-16	0%	NA	NA	30% hydrogen peroxide 20 min, water rinse, 10% smoke water 24 h; 1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions
Jul-16	0%	NA	NA	dry heat 90Â°C oven 15 min, 30% hydrogen peroxide 20 min, water rinse; 1% agar; Incubated under spring/autumn conditions

Result: Maximum percentage of germination observed.
T0: Number of days before first germinant observed.
T50: Number of days to achieve 50% germination.
Pre-treatment: The initial treatment that the seeds received prior to placement on germination media.
Germination medium: The substrate that seeds were placed on for the duration of the germination experiment.
Incubator conditions:
Photoperiod: The duration of light exposure that the seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Thermoperiod: The constant or diurnal temperatures that seeds were subject to during a 24 hour period.
Winter conditions: 15°C 20 h (3am→11pm); 5°C 4 h (11pm→3am) / 10 h light (8am→6pm); 14 h dark (6pm→8am)
Spring/Autumn conditions: 22°C 12 h (8am→8pm); 10°C 12 h (8pm→8am) / 12 h light (8am→8pm); 12 h dark (8pm→8am)
Summer conditions: 30°C 14 h (6am→8pm); 15°C 10 h (8pm→6am) / 14 h light (6am→8pm); 10 h dark (8pm→6am)