Plants of
South Australia
Ornduffia umbricola var. beaugleholei
Menyanthaceae
Beauglehole's Lax Marsh-flower,
Beauglehole's Marsh-flower,
Lax Marsh-flower
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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: 8

Prior names

Villarsia parnassifolia, partly

Villarsia umbricola var. beaugleholei

Common names

Beauglehole's Lax Marsh-flower

Beauglehole's Marsh-flower

Lax Marsh-flower

Etymology

Vallarsia named after Dominique Villars (1745-1814), a French botanist and physician. Umbricola from the Latin 'umbra' meaning shady and 'cola' meaning dwelling; referring to its habit in damp soils or shallow fresh water in semi-shaded and sheltered sites. Beaugleholei named after Alexander Clifford (Cliff) Beauglehole (1920–2002), an Australian farmer, botanist, plant collector and naturalist.

Distribution and status

Found in the lower South-east in South Australia, growing on damp sandy or peaty soil or in shallow fresh water in semi-shaded sites of forest depressions, bogs and creek edges. Also found in Victoria. Native. Very rare in South Australia. Common in Victoria.
Herbarium region: South Eastern
NRM region: South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Non-stoloniferous, slender tufted perennial or annual herb to 105 cm high with aerial leaves (rarely floating). Leaves erect, ovate to almost circular, to 12 cm long, entire, rounded to moderately cordate at the base. Inflorescence a a lax slender panicle occupying much of the flowering stem, with large yellow flowers. This variety differ from the other variety found in South Australia, Vallarsia umbricola var. umbricola which have smooth or slightly granular seeds. Flowering between November and April. Fruits are pale brown papery capsule to 11 mm long. Seeds are orange ellipsoid seed to 1.3 mm long and 1 mm wide, with a strongly tuberculated surface.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between January and May. Collect mature capsules, those that are turning a pale straw colour and contain hard seeds. Can collect individual capsules or break off the whole fruit spike. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. 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. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 95%.

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
8,300 (1.57 g)
8,300 (1.57 g)
157-Jan-2008TST332
South Eastern
19-Sep-200895%+5°C, -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.