Flowering plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, SW of Braidwood, NSW

Flowers. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, SW of Braidwood, NSW

Common Name

Austral Pipewort, Southern Pipewort, Pipewort

Family

Eriocaulaceae

Notes

Small grass-like annual forb to about 5cm tall. Leaves at the base of the plant, 2-5cm long, 1-1.5mm wide, linear, with a long point. Male and female flowers on the same plant. Individual flowers small (less than 3mm across) in oval to almost globular heads on the ends of the flowering stems, surrounded by bracts. Male flowers with 6 'petals', the inner 3 fused into a 3-lobed tube, female flowers with 0 petals. In this area known only from one record in the nineteenth century from the 'Murray R'. Endangered Australia. Endangered NSW. Protected NSW. Endangered Vic. Threatened list Vic.

Description an in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 174

PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Eriocaulon~australasicum

NSW Department of Environment & Heritage profile:  http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=10276