Plants of
South Australia
Dodonaea humilis
Sapindaceae
Limestone Hop-bush,
Dwarf Hop-bush
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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: 3

Prior names

Dodonaea boroniifolia

Common names

Limestone Hop-bush

Dwarf Hop-bush

Etymology

Dodonaea named after Rembert Dodoens (1517-1585), a Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus. Humilis means dwarf, small, referring to the low habit.

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia and found from Streaky Bay to Keith. Native. Common in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Dioecious, spreading shrub to 1 m high. Leaves pinnate, to 3.5 cm long excluding the petiole; lateral leaflets 2-12, rarely as many as 14; cuneate, obovate to broad-obovate, rarely oblanceolate; concave above, 3-7-toothed or lobed at the apex; viscous, glabrous or sometimes with sparse simple hairs on the mid-vein below. Terminal leaflet usually elliptic or obovate, entire or rarely toothed or divided, otherwise similar to the lateral leaflets. Flowers from solitary to a 3-5-flowered terminal cyme with red flowers; sepals 4, stamens 8. Flowering between November and March. Fruits are red-brown capsule 4-lobed, to 7 mm long and 6 mm wide, with dense glandular hairs. Seeds are black ovoid seed to 2.5 mm long and 2 mm wide, with a wing around the margin. Seed embryo type is folded.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and May. Collect capsules that contain hard black seeds, usually when capsule is turning red or brown. Place capsules in a tray and leave to dry for 1 to 2 weeks. Then rub the capsules 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. From one collection, the seed viability was average, at 75%. This species has physiological dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking the seed coat).

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
1,900 (6.32 g)
1,900 (6.32 g)
60+30-Nov-2006TST113
Yorke Peninsula
1-Aug-200775%-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.