Plants of
South Australia
Montia fontana ssp. chondrosperma
Montiaceae
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Prior names

Montia fontana var. chondrosperma

Etymology

Montia named after Guiseppe Monti (1682-1760), an Italian chemist and botanist, Professor of Botany and Director of the Bologna botanic garden. Fontana from Latin meaning fountain or spring; referring to the species habitat in wet areas. Chondrosperma from the Greek 'chondros' meaning grain and 'sperma' meaning seed; possibly referring to the tiny grain-like seeds.

Distribution and status

Found mainly in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia, growing in moist areas along stream margins and wetlands. Also found in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, New Zealand, North and South America and Europe Native. Very rare in South Australia. Rare in New South Wales. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, Green Adelaide
NRM region: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Annual herb to 20 cm high with ascending to erect stems, sometimes rooting at the nodes. Leaves oblanceolate to obovate, to 15 mm long, 4 mm wide. Flowers both solitary and in clusters with white flowers. Flowering between September and November. Fruits are pale brown capsules to 2 mm long on a long stalk. Seeds are black ovoid seed to 1.2 mm diameter, covered in circular rounded tubercules. Seed embryo type is peripheral.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and January. Collect mature capsules, those that are turning yellow or pale brown colour and contain black seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to 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 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
BGA10,700 (4.13 g)3010-Oct-2007RJB74180
Southern Lofty
19-Sep-200880%+5°C, -18°C
BGA3,600 (1.1 g)100+2-Nov-2016DJD3549
Southern Lofty
1-Nov-201780%+5°C, -18°C, -80°C
BGA220 (0.071 g)51-Nov-2017DJD3549
Southern Lofty
30-Jun-2018N/C-18°C
BGA500 (0.14 g)206-Oct-2017KHB982
Southern Lofty
30-Jun-201850%-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.
Germination table:
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