Print Fact SheetBerkheya rigida

Taxonomy

Berkheya rigida (Thunb.) Bolus & Wolley-Dod ex Ewart, Jean White & B.Rees, Proc. Roy. Soc. Victoria 22:20. 1909

Common synonyms

Crocodilodes rigidum Kuntze; Stobaea rigida Thunb.

Common name

African thistle, berkheya, Augusta thistle, Hamelin thistle

Description

Propagule or dispersal unit is the fruit with pappus. Fertile part (1.3-)1.5-2.6(-3) mm long, 0.3-1 mm wide, in side view widest in upper part (obovoid), +/- straight, the upper (apical) end suddenly cut off (truncate), in cross-section round (terete), basal scar (carpopodium) inconspicuous and undifferentiated, central, beak (=thinner sterile stalk between seed and pappus) absent, wings absent, fruit surface light brown or straw or dark brown, smooth (except at cellular level), with no hairs (glabrous) or simple straight hairs, thickened margin absent, longitudinal ribs absent, rarely present (by misinterpretation), 5, their surfaces smooth, with no hairs (glabrous) or simple straight hairs.

Pappus type scales, pappus elements all +/- similar, up to 0-0.3 mm long, in one row, number of pappus elements less than ten, persistent, the individual scales rounded or dissected.

Ecology

Perennial herb spreading with underground stems. Subtropical to warm-temperate regions. Found on sandy soils and near the coast, weedy especially in pastures.

Native range

South Africa

Introduced range

Australia