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Eriocaulon australasicum (common names southern pipewort, austral pipewort) is an endangered monocotyledonous plant in the Eriocaulaceae family found in Australia, in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.[2][6]

Eriocaulon australasicum
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Endangered  (EPBC Act)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Eriocaulaceae
Genus:	Eriocaulon
Species:	E. australasicum
Binomial name
Eriocaulon australasicum (F.Muell.) Körn.[3][4]
Synonyms[5]
Electrosperma australasicum F.Muell. Eriocaulon electrospermum F.Muell.

Description

Eriocaulon australasicum is a small, annual, semi-aquatic herb with a tuft of basal linear leaves which are 20–50 mm long by 1–1.5 mm wide. The flowers occur as egg-shaped to almost globular heads 3–4 mm wide. These are enclosed in lance-shaped outer bracts and by linear inner bracts. The fruits are smooth, with three celled capsules, which each contain a single seed. It possibly requires an inundation period to enable germination from soil-stored seed. Plants start to grow in shallow water (up to 20 cm deep), particularly when the water is clear and the substrate has high organic content. Flowering and seed-set swiftly follow falling water levels and the drying-out of depressions. Little is known about seed set, seed bank accumulation and its persistence and viability. It does not appear to reproduce vegetatively.[7]

Habitat

It grows in shallow, seasonally-inundated, depressions and on the margins of swamps on clay plains.[7]

Taxonomy

It was first described as Electrosperma australasicum by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1854, who found it "on wet places along the Murray, towards the junction of the Murrumbidgee".[3][8] It was transferred to the genus, Eriocaulon, in 1854 by Friedrich August Körnicke.[3][4]

Threats and recovery plan

Threats to the species are climate change, since Eriocaulon australasicum occurs in seasonally wet habitats, and probably requires a period of inundation to enable stored seed to germinate. With climate change, less frequent inundation of the required habitats will reduce habitat availability. A further threat is the grazing and trampling by sheep of the population in South Australia and possibly grazing by rabbits in Victoria.[7]

Current conservation actions in Victoria include the repair of boundary fencing to remove the grazing of the Little Desert population in Victoria, and the realignment of a vehicle track to eliminate the threat of vehicle disturbance. Additionally, fuel reduction programs in Victorian parks and reserves have been modified to avoid disturbance at sites where Eriocaulon australasicum occurs.[7]

References

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