Plants of
South Australia
Centipeda crateriformis ssp. compacta
Asteraceae
Compact Sneezeweed,
Desert Sneezeweed
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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: 2

Prior names

Centipeda minima, partly

Common names

Compact Sneezeweed

Desert Sneezeweed

Etymology

Centipeda from Latin for centipede, from 'centi' meaning hundred and 'ped' meaning foot, referring to the creeping stems. Crateriformis from Latin meaning bowl-shaped, referring to the bowl-shaped capitulum (compact flower head) when fully open. Compacta meaning compact, alluding to its more compact flower head compared to the other varieties.

Distribution and status

Found mainly in the southern part of South Australia growing on the margins of drying watercourses and in seasonally inundated swamps and depressions. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in Victoria. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Tufted or loosely mat-forming perennial, sometimes shortly rhizomatous or producing adventitious roots from lower nodes to 20 cm diameter and to 10 cm high, branches prostrate to suberect, glabrous except for cottony hairs on young growth. Leaves more or less oblong to spatulate to 14 mm long and 3.5 mm wide with up to 7 teeth toward apex, or entire, surfaces resin-dotted. Flower heads green with no petals, cup-shaped to almost globular, single, at the bases of the leaves or at the ends of the stems. Centipeda crateriformis ssp. compacta differ from the other subspecies by being a perennial (annual for C. crateriformis ssp. crateriformis) and having narrower leaves and more compact flower head. Flowers most of the year. Fruits are dense brown daisy head. Seeds are pale brown ovoid seed to 1.5 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, with scattered hairs on the narrower part. Seed embryo type is spatulate.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between January and November. Collect heads that are drying off and turning brown. Place the heads in a tray for a week to dry. Then rub the heads gently with your hands or a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be careful as the seeds are very small. 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 is usually high. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily.

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
38,000 (2.3 g)
38,000 (2.3 g)
300+25-Jan-2007RJB71189
Kangaroo Island
1-Aug-200795%-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.