Prior names
Brachyscome basaltica, (excluding var. gracilis), partl
Brachycome coongiensis
Brachycome rara
Common names
Coongie Daisy
Rare Daisy
Etymology
Brachyscome from the Greek 'brachys' meaning short and 'kome' meaning hair, referring to the tuft of short bristles or hairs of the pappus. Rara from the Latin 'raris' meaning rare or uncommon, referring to the distribution of the species.
Distribution and status
Found in the far north-east corner in South Australia, growing in the cracking clay of floodplains of the Cooper creek catchment with mostly ephemeral herbs and grasses and chenopod shrubs. Also found in Queensland. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Queensland.
Herbarium region: Lake Eyre
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Annual herb to 40 cm high with ascending to erect hairless branches. Leaves above the base, entire but the margins sometimes appearing somewhat undulate. Basal leaves commonly oblanceolate or linear-oblanceolate and tapering to the base to 50 mm long and 14 mm wide. Flowers white or pale mauve daisy appearing in spring to autumn, depending on seasonal conditions. Fruits are brown daisy-heads. Seeds are pale-brown ovoid to pyramid-shaped seed to 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide, spongy-looking and covered in wrinkles. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and April. Pick heads that are maturing, drying off, with brown seeds that dislodge easily. Place the seed-heads in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then gently rub the heads 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 high, at 90%. This species may have physiological dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate.Germinates quickest under spring/autumn conditions. Requires an alternating day/night temperature, rather than static temperatures.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSB | 24,600 (3.07 g) | 200+ | 26-Sep-2007 | DJD867 Lake Eyre | 95% | ||
BGA | 10,700 (1.67 g) | 100+ | 10-Oct-2007 | DJD932 Lake Eyre | 19-Sep-2008 | 95% | -18°C |
BGA | 4,700 (0.61 g) | 1-Jul-2008 | DJD932 Lake Eyre | 2-May-2017 | 95% | -18°C | |
BGA | 5,800 (0.7 g) | 30+ | 20-Oct-2016 | DJD3528 Lake Eyre | 1-Nov-2017 | 90% | +5°C, -18°C, -80°C |
BGA | 15,400 (1.85 g) | 200+ | 7-Sep-2018 | DJD3776 Lake Eyre | 24-Apr-2019 | 95% | -18°C, -80°C |