Common name: Bocconi's Sand-spurrey
Spergularia bocconei (Scheele) Graebn. APNI* Synonyms: Spergularia bocconii (Scheele) Graebn. APNI*
Description: Annual or biennial with slender taproot.Branches decumbent from the base.
Leaves mucronate or shortly caudate, 10–45 mm long, 0.4–1 mm wide, usually glabrous. Stipules acute to acuminate, 1.5–4 mm long, connate for less than half their length.
Inflorescence often dense flowered, the upper branches becoming appearing racemose and one-sided, with dense glandular hairs. Flowering pedicels mostly shorter than or equal to sepals, occasionally longer in fruit. Sepals narrow-oblong, 2–3.5 mm long, 3.5–5 mm when in fruit; pale to dark purple basal spots present or absent. Petals 1.6–3.2 mm long, white or pink inside. Stamens mostly 2–5.
Fruit a capsule, ovoid to subglobose, usually 2–4 mm long, as long as sepals rarely longer. Seeds broad-pyriform, 0.35–0.6 mm long, pale olive brown, smooth to finely papillose, wingless.
Distribution and occurrence: Native to Mediterranean Europe. A sparsely distrubuted weed in sandy depressions and saline swamps of grasslands and scrublands in all States, absent N.Terr., also present in New Zealand.
NSW subdivisions: *CC, *NWS, *CWS, *NWP, *NFWP, *SFWP
Other Australian states: *Qld *Vic. *Tas. *W.A. *S.A.
Because of the similarity between this species and S. rubra and S. marina, it is probably undercollected. There is some possibility of these species hybridising.
Text by Louisa Murray
Taxon concept: Adams, L.G, West, J.G. & Cowley, K.J. (2008) Revision of Spergularia (Caryophyllaceae) in Australia. Australian Systematic Botany 21(4) 251-270.
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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