Rumicastrum granuliferum


Rumicastrum granuliferum is an annual herb in the family Montiaceae, and is native to New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria.

Description

It is a succulent, erect to Glossary of [botanical terms#decumbent|decumbent] herb, flowering from September to November with white-pink flowers. It grows on sandy and gravelly soils on granite outcrops and slopes.
The flowers are on pedicels which are 0.5–2 mm long and erect when in fruit. The bracts are alternate. The sepals are deciduous and 1.5–3 mm long. There are 5-7 petals, 5-10 stamens and 3 stigmas.
The black capsule is almost spherical with three short valves which open at the apex only. The numerous, red-brown, shiny seeds are about 0.5 mm long and 0.4 mm wide. For an illustration of the colliculate seeds, see .

Taxonomy

The species was first described as Calandrinia granulifera by George Bentham in 1863. The genus Calandrinia was discovered to be paraphyletic, and the Australasian species were moved to genus Rumicastrum in 2020.