Plants of
South Australia
Billardiera uniflora
Pittosporaceae
Single-flower Apple-berry,
One-flower Apple-berry
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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 painting: 1

Common names

Single-flower Apple-berry

One-flower Apple-berry

Etymology

Billardiera named after Jacques-Julien de Labillardiere (1755-1834), a 19th century French botanist who visited Western Australia and Tasmania with the D'Entrecasteaux expedition and named many new plant species. Uniflora from the Latin 'unus' meaning one and 'floris' meaning flower, referring to its solitary flower (but occasionally 2 together)

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia and found at the foot of the Eyre Penionsula, Kangaroo Island and southern Mount Lofty Ranges. Native. Uncommon in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Twiner or creeper perennial shrub to 1 m tall. Leaves alternate, linear to narrow-lanceolate, entire or crenate, acute to 50 mm long and 9 mm wide, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, margins closely revolute. Flowers cream or white, bell-shaped, solitary or occasionally 2. Flowering between September and November. Fruits are cylindrical drupe to 40 mm long and 13 mm wide, green and hard when immature and soft when ripe. Seeds are brown, flat, reniform to 2 mm long and 2 mm wide, covered in wrinkles. Seed embryo type is linear underdeveloped.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between March and May. Pick mature fruits that are soft or have dark brown seeds inside. Clean ripe fruit as soon as possible as it will go hard if left to dry too long. Rub the fruits in water with your hands to dislodge the seeds from the fruit. Pour the mixture into a sieve to separate the seeds from the flesh. Place the wet seeds in a tray lined with paper and leave to dry for 1 to 2 days. 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. This species has physiological dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

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
1,840 (3.09 g)
1,840 (3.09 g)
62-May-2007DJD802
Southern Lofty
1-Aug-2007100%+5°C, -18°C
BGA3,000 (5.94 g)23-Sep-2009PJA193
Southern Lofty
2-May-2017100%-18°C
BGA3,300 (5.378 g)158-Jun-2022West Bay Rd
Kangaroo Island
20-Jun-2023100%-18°C
BGA3,742 (4.753 g)16-Jun-2022D.A. Young
Kangaroo Island
20-Jun-202390%-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.