Hibbertia banksii. Watercolour by F.P. Nodder from sketches by Sydney Parkinson, the artist on Cook’s first voyage. Library & Archives, Natural History Museum, London (BM).

The State Herbarium of South Australia published three articles in Vol. 37 of the online version of its journal Swainsona today, 17 Aug. 2023.

(1) H.R. Toelken, Notes on Hibbertia (Dilleniaceae: subgen. Hemistemma) – 12. The northern Australian species of the H. banksii group (3.5mb PDF).

Hon. Research Associate Hellmut Toelken continues his revisions of the species of Hibbertia in Australia with this treatment of Hibbertia banksii and related taxa.

Twelve species and three subspecies are described in detail. Two species and three subspecies are described as new. All these plants occur in tropical Australia, i.e. the northern parts of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. Identification keys are provided, as well as a line drawing with all species.

Eucalyptus leucoxylon flower, dissected longitudinally. Scale bar = 5 mm. Photo: J. Salter.

(2) J. Salter, An unusual bud type in eucalypt flower morphology – another character to add to the Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) suite (11.2mb PDF).

New Zealand botanist Joshua Salter describes a new type of eucalypt bud, particular to Eucalyptus ser. Melliodorae, which includes for example E. leucoxylon (Yellow Gum) and E. melliodora (Yellow Box).

In this bud type, stamens arise from a ‘hinged’ staminophore, infolded on the inner face of the hypanthium, which lifts the stamens up and out at anthesis.

(3) T.A. Hammer, Hibbertia radians (Dilleniaceae), a new combination from South Australia (6.4mb PDF).

Tim Hammer (State Herbarium of South Australia and The University of Adelaide) discusses the subspecies of Hibbertia empetrifolia and describes the subspecies which occurs in South Australia, H. empetrifolia subsp. radians, as a separate taxon, H. radians. It occurs on Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula. Hibbertia empetrifolia is now restricted to southeastern Australia (NSW, Victoria and Tasmania).

Hibbertia radians, growing at Deep Creek National Park. Photo: T.A. Hammer.

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.

A new family classification has recently been applied to vascular plants on the Census of South Australian Plants, Algae & Fungi. It is derived from an update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification (APG IV) for the orders and families of flowering plants, published in 2016. The new family numbers assigned in the Census are based on linear sort numbers presented in that paper. Detailed, technical information on plant families can be found on the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website.

Lasiopetalum bauerii (Slender velvet-bush), now in Malvaceae (formerly in Sterculiaceae). Photo: D. Murfett.

Many families from the previous classification remained unchanged, but just occupy a new position in the sequence reflecting recent advances in understanding of their phylogenetic relationships. Some correspond to old familes, but have adopted new names, others are entirely new familes that have been split from existing ones. Several major families have been redefined, with their genera being variously assigned to other families.

The following table shows ‘old’ families that have effectively been ‘split’:

In addition to the above, the following 40 ‘old’ families have had a simple one-to-one change in the SA Census to a new family assignment and/or new name:

Eremophia duttonii (Harlequin Fuchsia-bush), now in the family Scrophulariaceae (formerly in Myoporaceae). Photo: SA Seed Conservation Centre.

Many of the changes have been applied on the Australian Plant Census (APC) for some time, and were also adopted for the 5th edition of the Flora of South Australia.

Notable changes include the genera within Scrophulariaceae being reassigned into five different families, and the Myoporaceae (comprising Eremophila and Myoporum, as well as the WA genus Diocirea) being subsumed within the now more narrowly circumscribed Scrophulariaceae.

In South Australia. the former Liliaceae  have become five separate families.

The milkweed family, Asclepiadaceae, is now incorporated within the Apocynaceae, the Centrolepidaceae within the Restionaceae, and the Sterculiaceae within the Malvaceae.

Significantly, Chenopodiaceae has been subsumed within Amaranthaceae, although this change is not currently applied to the APC.

Compiled by Herbarium botanist Peter Lang.

Pam Catcheside woking in a make-shift lab at Flinders Chase National Park in 2010. Photo: D. Catcheside.

Over the last few months, our colleagues at DEW’s Biodiversity Data Team have been processing over 5,500 fungi records to upload them to the Biological Databases of South Australia (BDBSA). This has well over tripled the number of fungi records and expanded the available fungi taxonomy in BDBSA.

The data uploaded has largely come from Pam Catcheside’s huge project to extensively collect and describe South Australian macrofungi. Pam retrained as a mycologist after having taught biology in schools in the UK and Adelaide for decades. Since then, she has studied the macrofungi and has described many new species as an Honorary Research Associate of the State Herbarium of South Australia.

The extent of macrofungi data collected by Pam Catcheside now available in BDBSA.

The project to incorporate Pam’s data into BDBSA was initiated when the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board was updating their ‘Find Our Fungi’ project – a citizen science project that provides information on target species in the region and encourages the community to upload records of these species to the FungiMap Project on iNaturalist. As Board staff were researching and describing the locations of the target species, they realised that none of Pam Catcheside’s records were showing up on BDBSA. Pam had been diligently storing those records in a separate database, and the Board was able to fund the task of reformatting it for inclusion in BDBSA. Critical support provided by the State Herbarium and the Science and Information staff resulted in the quality assurance of reformatted data and in the inclusion of 420 new species of fungi referenced in BDBSA.

If you have any questions regarding the data contact the Bio data support team at DEWbiodatasupport@sa.gov.au

BDBSA data-sets are available through the Department’s NatureMaps application.

Compiled by Lily Mackintosh, DEW Biodiversity Systems Officer

Since 1998, the annual SA Environment Awards celebrate South Australians, who give their time, expertise and passion on behalf of our precious natural environment. The award is Presented by Conservation Council SA in partnership with Green Adelaide, the Department for Environment and Water and the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute.

Among this year’s recipients was Pam Catcheside, Hon. Research Associate of the State Herbarium of South Australia, who received a Lifetime Award for her work in mycology. Pam is well-known throughout Australia for her enthusiasm about fungi and her scientific contributions. Over the past 20 years she has made almost 5,000 collections, described three new species, one new genus, Antrelloides P.S.Catches. & D.E.A.Catches. (Swainsona 31: 82, 2018, 4.8mb PDF) and wrote papers on rare or interesting species. We all congratulate Pam for this great achievement!

Enid Robertson (1925-2016) received a posthumous Lifetime Award for her work in conservation. She was systematic botanist at the Waite Research Institute of The University of Adelaide, who was engaged to revise and edit the second edition of Part 4 of J.M. Black‘s Flora of South Australia (1957). Enid later worked with Prof. Bryan Womersley at the University’s Botany Department, work that was acknowledged with a seagrass being named after her, Posidonia robertsoniae, recognising her contribution to our knowledge of the Australian marine flora by Kuo and Cambridge in 1984. Her research focused on Asteraceae, Danthonia and seagrasses. Enid was remembered in a previous “Know Our Plants” blog post. The grass Rytidosperma robertsoniae Tiver (Swainsona 33: 36, 2020, 1.3mb PDF) was named after her.

A list of all 2023 award recipients, with more information about their achievements and short videos about the recipients, is available on the SA Environment Award website.

The State Herbarium of South Australia sits 15 km inland from the nearest sea and houses over one million, mostly dried, specimens. So why are we posting about World Oceans Day?

Despite our terrestrial location, the herbarium is home to significant collections of marine flora (seagrasses) and macroalgae (seaweeds). Not only that, but we are also helmed by seagrass expert and Chief Botanist Michelle Waycott.

FROM THIS: In situ photo of Metamastophora flabellata, being collected by volunteer Fiona McQueen on a collecting trip to Yorke Peninsula. Photo: F. McQueen.

TO THIS: Fiona collecting a part of Sarcomenia delesserioides from Pondalowie Bay to become a herbarium specimen. Photo: F. McQueen.

Treasure trove

The State Herbarium of South Australia is known to contain plant specimens, including the seagrass families, but its world-renowned algal collection may not be common knowledge to the general public. Housed within the herbarium are examples of all 10 South Australian species of seagrass and almost 1300 species of marine macroalgae! This algal species diversity is partly because the seaweeds in the Southern Ocean and its Great Southern Reef have the highest levels of species richness and endemism in the world and partly because of Prof. H.B.S. Womersley’s lifetime work in compiling the six-volume Marine Benthic Flora of Southern Australia with his team at the University of Adelaide and at the State Herbarium.

Of the more than one million specimens in the herbarium, at least 1500 are seagrasses, and close to 100,000 are seaweeds. But don’t mistake these relatively small specimen numbers for insignificance. Quite oppositely, seagrasses and seaweeds are vital to most oceanic functions.

TO HERE: The herbarium’s wet lab where algal specimens are prepared, mounted, studied and identified. Photo: J. Barrett.

Specimens of significance

World Oceans Day is designed to remind people of the importance of the world’s oceans and to encourage them to care enough to engage in marine protection. And so they should. The ocean covers 70% of the planet and supports every other organism. While many factors and organisms are at play, when it comes down to it, the functions of our oceans are very much a product of the plants and algae within:

AND FINALLY: The mounted specimens, which were floated onto a preparatory sheet before spending time in the drier and being attached to their final herbarium sheets.

• The vast majority of the planet’s oceanic oxygen is created by microalgae (phytoplankton), macroalgae (seaweeds) and plants (seagrasses). Naturally, photosynthesisers are also effective storers of carbon.
• Not only do the number of seagrass and seaweed species contribute to oceanic diversity, but these species also feed, house and protect countless other marine organisms.
• Both algae and seagrasses are the start of many food chains, nourishing animal groups as diverse as shellfish, crustaceans, birds, fish, marine mammals and even us.

These are but a few blips on the radar of seagrass and seaweed functionality and importance. Unfortunately, our marine ecosystems are in decline. Seagrass meadows are especially in dire straits… and dire gulfs, and dire bays.

A strong foundation

This is where the State Herbarium comes in. Our taxonomical knowledge creates foundational information on species and their distribution, abundance, and history. This provides a baseline of data that allows changes to be noticed and tracked over time.

The specimens in our collection are barcoded and databased. The complete datasets (including species name, collecting location and date, etc.) are sent to the Australasian Virtual Herbarium for broader use by anyone with an interest and Internet access.

Not only does our collection comprise the actual reference specimens, but also a wealth of associated data on species descriptions and locations. When collected and stored over time (the earliest seaweed in our collection is from 1799!) our specimens and data can allow scientists to identify and document change, as well as plan for restoration.

When next June rolls around and World Oceans Day pops into your head, I hope you think of our secret sea of marine specimens housed in The Old Tram Barn (2.7mb PDF) in the middle of an urban capital city, and remember our contribution to ocean conservation and public education.

Compiled by State Herbarium staff member Jem Barrett.