Plants of
South Australia
Oreomyrrhis eriopoda
Apiaceae
Australian Carraway
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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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Prior names

Oreomyrrhis andicola, partly

Caldasia eriopoda

Etymology

Oreomyrrhis from the Greek 'oreos' meaning mountain and 'myrrhis' the fragrant European herb known botanically as Myrrhis odorata, and in England as sweet ciceley or myrrh; alluding to the genus habitat and similarity to the genus Myrrhis. Eriopoda from the Greek 'erion' meaning wool and 'podos' meaning foot or woolly stalk; alluding to the species woolly flower stalk.

Distribution and status

Found only in two areas in South Australia, the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower South-east, growing in grassland, open heath and woodland communities. Also found in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Endangered in South Australia. This endangered herb is only known from two locations in the Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges region. The SA Seed Bank collected more than 10,000 seeds for a population in the Kangarilla area with the support of the AMLR NRM.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

An erect perennial herb that dies off and re-shoots each year. Leaves are basal and are deeply lobed, similar to carrot leaves. Flowers are small and white in a cluster at the end of a long stalk. Flowering between September and November. Fruits are large brown seed-head at the terminal of stems with numerous seeds. Seeds are dark brown cylindrical seeds to 6 mm long and 1 mm wide, with a number of ridges across its coat. One end is narrower than the other a bit like a bottle. Seed embryo type is linear under-developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and February. Pick mature seeds off the seed-heads, usually these are dark brown and will come off easily. Minimal cleaning required if only the seeds are collected from the seed-heads. 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 six collections, the seed viability were high, ranging from 90% to 100%. 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
3,700 (9.45 g)
3,700 (9.45 g)
100+26-Jan-2005DJD101
Southern Lofty
28-Mar-200695%+5°C, -18°C
BGA3,500 (8.21 g)70+5-Dec-2006DJD712
South Eastern
1-Aug-2007100%+5°C, -18°C
BGA1,400 (2.56 g)405-Dec-2006DJD714
South Eastern
1-Aug-2007100%+5°C, -18°C
BGA420 (1.03 g)100+1-Dec-2006DJD604
Southern Lofty
1-Aug-2007100%-18°C
BGA28,500 (55.45 g)50+4-Dec-2007TST243
Southern Lofty
19-Sep-2008100%+5°C, -18°C
BGA4,800 (7.82 g)50+9-Feb-2010TST918
Southern Lofty
1-Jun-2010100%-18°C
BGA7,300 (12.73 g)9-Feb-2010Thomas Gully
Southern Lofty
1-Jan-201290%+5°C, -18°C
BGA10,500 (19.02 g)100+9-Feb-2017DJD3615
Southern Lofty
1-Nov-2017100%+5°C, -18°C, -80°C
BGA5,100 (8.48 g)202-Dec-2019DJD3615
Southern Lofty
24-Jun-2020100%-18°C
BGA11,500 (20.178 g)100+8-Dec-2021DJD4059
Southern Lofty
20-Jun-2023100%-18°C, -80°C
BGA13,930 (20.498 g)200+25-Jan-2023DJD4172
Southern Lofty
20-Jun-202385%-18°C, -80°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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