Today, the State Herbarium of South Australia published one article in its journal Swainsona online.

D. Nicolle & M.E. French, Validation of four new combinations in Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) from south-western Western Australia (80kb PDF)

In their new book, Eucalypts of Western Australia: The South-West Coast and Ranges (2019), the authors published new combinations for four taxa of Eucalyptus. By accident, the basionym was not cited correctly, rendering these new names invalid according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (current Shenzhen edition from 2018). Nicolle & French validate the names in this short communication.

This is the first time, a SHORT COMMUNICATION has been published in Swainsona. The Editorial Committee encourages authors who want to publish short papers with nomenclatural changes, typifications, systematic notes, new records of native or weed species, etc., to submit their manuscripts to the Editor. Short communications should not exceed four printed pages.

Eucalyptus redunca subsp. pluricaulis (Brooker & Hopper) D.Nicolle & M.E.French, one of the new names validated in this Short Communication. Image: Euclid/CSIRO.

To access content of all volumes of Swainsona and the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens since Vol. 1 (1976), please visit the journal’s web-site at flora.sa.gov.au/swainsona.

The State Herbarium of South Australia documents all known plant taxa (species, sub-species, varieties and forms) native and naturalised (weedy) in South Australia. These taxa are listed in the Census of South Australian Plants, Algae and Fungi. All newly discovered state and regional records are added to the Census throughout the year. The records are based on preserved plant specimens, verified by a botanists, and housed in the vaults of the State Herbarium.

Acacia cardiophylla from NSW, naturalised in South Australia. Image by Bidgee (CC-BY-SA 2.5 AU).

For all new records of non-native plants, an annual report is produced by the Weeds Botanist Chris Brodie and colleagues from the State Herbarium. The report includes the list of new weeds recorded for South Australia with locations, descriptions, and photographs. Also documented are updates to other taxa that have had a change in distribution, weed status or name. Other activities carried out by Weeds Botanist are also summarised, such as field trips or presentations to community groups.

The latest report is now available online:

Brodie, C.J., Lang, P.J. & Waycott, M. (2019). Regional Landscape Surveillance for New Weed Threats Project, 2018-2019: Annual report on new plant naturalisations in South Australia. (4.2mb PDF).

Also available for download are last year’s 2018 report (4.5mb PDF), as well as the report for 2017 (3.8mb PDF) and a compilation of all reports from 2010 to 2016 (3.7mb PDF).

Callitris oblonga subsp. oblonga growing in the Adelaide Hills. Image by C.J. Brodie showing old fruits.

These reports highlights to land managers, which non-native plant species have recently been found in South Australia and where. New records are listed as either “naturalised/established” (*) or “questionably naturalised/established” (?e).

Naturalised plant taxa are those that have originally been introduced by humans to an area, deliberately or accidentally. They have self-propagated without aid where they are not wanted, possibly spreading by natural means to new areas. An example listed in the recent report is Atriplex amnicola (river saltbush; 365kb PDF) from W.A. or Callitris oblonga subsp. oblonga (South Esk pine), originally from Tasmania. Both of are examples of Australian plants that have become weedy (see also a 1985 article by P.M. Kloot; 733kb PDF).

Questionably Naturalised plant taxa (i.e. possible new weeds) are introduced non-native plants that may be self-propagating without aid, but are not well established or lack data to classify them as naturalised. An example of this are Aloiampelos ciliaris (climbing aloe) and the hybrid Eucalyptus steedmanii × Eucalyptus sp. (Steedman’s mallet hybrid).

Any unknown or possible new state or regional weed records should be reported to Chris Brodie (0437 825 685, chris.brodie@sa.gov.au).

Lepidium phlebopetalum growing at Innamincka Station. Photo: SA Seedbank.

The new, 5th edition of Flora of South Australia is published online in PDF-form. Today, the State Herbarium of South Australia released a first version of the chapter on the plant family Brassicaceae, describing the genus Lepidium.

Scarlett, N.H. & Hewson, H.J. (2019). Brassicaceae (partly) (version 1). In: Kellermann, J. (ed.), Flora of South Australia (ed. 5). 25 pp. (State Herbarium of South Australia: Adelaide). (8.6mb PDF).

Lepidium (peppercresses) is a cosmopolitan genus of around 220 species, of which 36 are endemic in Australia and 8 are introduced. Following recent molecular analyses, it now also includes Cardaria and Coronopus, which were formerly treated as distrinct genera. Neville Scarlett describes all 27 species that occur in South Australia in detail. Most species are illustrated with line-drawings and photographs.

The general link to the 5th edition of Flora of South Australia is flora.sa.gov.au/ed5, providing current treatments, glossary, introduction and cover pages for printing. Previous versions of Flora treatments are still available from our Superseded treatments page. Flora chapters are also available on Enviro Data SA and on this website under the “Flora of South Australia PDFs” link in the “Important Resources” listing.

The orange lichen Teloschistes chrysophthalmus growing with other species on a dead branch. Scale bar 10 mm. Photo: J. Jarman.

Today, the State Herbarium of South Australia published Vol. 32 (2019) in the online version of Swainsona. This issue of the journal contains one large monograph on the lichens of Kangaroo Island:

Kantvilas, G. (2019). An annotated catalogue of the lichens of Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Swainsona 32: 1-97. (27.9mb PDF).

This magnum opus of Hobart-based lichenologist Gintaras Kantvilas, Head of the Tasmanian Herbarium, presents the results of over 10 years of work on the lichens of Kangaroo Island. During this time, the author undertook extensive fieldwork and reviewed more than 1500 herbarium specimens. The lichen flora of Kangaroo Island consists of 366 taxa, of which 14 are restricted to the island. Ninety-five species are reported for South Australia for the first time, of which 19 are also new records for Australia.

This landmark study is the first to thoroughly examine and document the lichens of the Kangaroo Island. Each species is listed with a short, diagnostic description, many are illustrated with photographs. All specimens used to compile the catalogue of lichens are listed, making this publication an invaluable tool for future research. A brief history of lichenological work on the island is included, as well as a description of the habitats that lichens occur in.

Hardcopy of this special issue “Lichens of Kangaroo Island” will be printed soon and should be available next month. More information on Dr Kantvilas’ project can also be found in a paper he wrote for the Proceedings of the Botany Symposium “Botany 2016 — Past, present and future“ (Swainsona 30: 17-24; 3.3mb PDF).

Granite boulders with orange lichens along the coast of Dudley Peninsula. Photo: G. Kantvilas.

To access content of all volumes of Swainsona and the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens since Vol. 1 (1976), please visit the journal’s web-site at flora.sa.gov.au/swainsona.

Compiled by State Herbarium Botanist Jürgen Kellermann.