Plants of
South Australia
Spergularia tasmanica
Caryophyllaceae
Coast Sand-spurrey
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Lepigonum tasmanicum

Spergularia marginata, partly

Spergularia sp. Butchers Gap (P.Gibbons 234)

Spergularia sp. B

Spergularia sp. 1

Etymology

Spergularia is derived from the genus Spergula, first used by De l'Obel for Sagina spergula which is now known as Spergula amensis, and probably derived from the Latinisation of Spergel, the German name of this plant or from the Latin 'spargo' meaning sow or scatter; referring to the discharge of seeds. Tasmanica of or from Tasmania (Australia); referring to the location where the type specimen was collected from.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern part of South Australia, growing in coastal and inland sandy swamps and salt marshes. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
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

Perennial herb with thick, woody rootstock and erect to more or less decumbent branches. Leaves flattened, mucronate to shortly caudate. to 80 mm long and 2 mm wide, glabrous to sparsely hairy. Inflorescence a loose spike covered in dense hairs with pink flowers. Flowering between August and December. Fruits are brown ovoid capsule to 9 mm long. Seeds are dark brown to black circular seeds to 1.1 mm diameter, with a paper wing around the margin. Seed embryo type is peripheral.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and January. Collect capsules that are maturing, fat and turning brown and contain hard dark seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently by hand or with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be very careful as the seeds are very small. Seeds should be hard and brown. 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 two collections, the seed viability were average to high, ranging from 75% to 80%.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA1,900 (0.3 g)501-Oct-2007RJB74464
South Eastern
19-Sep-200880%-18°C
BGA 
MSB
5,700 (0.7 g)
5,700 (0.7 g)
18-Sep-2007RJB74256
South Eastern
19-Sep-200875%-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.