Stylidium graminifolium

Grass Triggerplant at Majura, ACT

Stylidium graminifolium at Majura, ACT - 27 Oct 2014
Stylidium graminifolium at Majura, ACT - 27 Oct 2014
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Identification history

Stylidium graminifolium 7 Jan 2016 MichaelMulvaney
Stylidium armeria subsp. armeria 27 Oct 2014 SilkeSma

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7 comments

BettyDonWood wrote:
   29 Oct 2014
I presume the leaves are over 3mm wide. If so I agree.
SilkeSma wrote:
   29 Oct 2014
I can't quite remember the width of the leaves, but think they were over 3mm. The whole plant was around 40cm tall, that'll give you an idea what the leaves are like.
waltraud wrote:
   17 Sep 2015
I can't see the difference to Stylidium graminifolium which we id-ed on Mt Majura.
AaronClausen wrote:
   17 Sep 2015
So at 40cm, are these significantly larger than S. graminifolium? Is that the main difference?
waltraud wrote:
   18 Sep 2015
check PlantNet link below - S graminifolium flower spike usually between 30cm and 40cm and can grow up to 70cm tall. Size is sometimes not a good feature for id; I saw an onion orchid spike close to 1 m tall... http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=stylidium~graminifolium
AaronClausen wrote:
   18 Sep 2015
Great to know all this, thanks Waltraud. Another valuable tip for me on plant ID'ing.
RWPurdie wrote:
   8 Jan 2016
I've just checked two papers relevant to Stylidium graminifolium and S. armeria: Raulings & Ladiges (2001) Australian Systematic Botany 14, 901-935, and Jackson & Wiltshire (2001) Australian Systematic Botany 14, 937-969. Both provided keys and descriptions for the two species (though Jackson & Wiltshire note they only examined Tasmanian herbarium specimens for S. graminifolium. It’s unclear how many specimens Raulings & Ladiges looked at, but they don’t cite any ACT specimens for S. graminifolium, and only one ACT specimen (from Mt Franklin) for S. armeria [all the other S. armeria specimens cited in their paper under the ACT are actually from NSW].
I’ve checked all the ACT specimens in ANH for both species against the keys and descriptions in the above two papers; the specimens include many from Black Mountain. Based on the herbarium specimens and relating it to my field knowledge of the genus on Black Mountain, I don’t believe S. armeria occurs on Black Mountain, Bruce Ridge or Mt Ainslie. The main obvious differences between the two species are the leaves: S. graminifolium leaves are linear, up to 3 mm wide, and the mid rib is clearly visible on the lower surface. S. armeria leaves are narrowly oblanceolate (ie broader in the upper half), usually 4 mm or more wide (rarely c. 3 mm) and the midrib is not obvious on the lower surface. These characters are difficult to tell from photos but are readily apparent in herbarium specimens (and fresh specimens).

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  • 1 - 3 Abundance
  • 27 Oct 2014 08:36 AM Recorded on
  • SilkeSma Recorded by

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  • True In flower

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