Common Name

Dainty Sea-heath

Family

Frankeniaceae

Notes

Shrub to 50cm tall, often prostrate.  Leaves opposite each other, with membranous stipules at the base, which encircle the stem.  Leaves 0.2-0.7cm long, linear to almost cylindrical, exuding salt, hairless and dotted with glands above, hairy below becoming hairless, edges rolled down.  Flowers pink, with 5 petals, in open groups at the tops of the stems, each flower subtended by leaf-like bracts.  Frankenia serpyllifolia in SA.

Differentiation between the species of Frankenia is based on details of the ovaries, beyond the scope of this key.

Description in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 500

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

Dried specimens. © copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, collected Murray River by F von Mueller (before 1867)