Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Sclerolaena muricata
Common name
Black Rolypoly
Family
Chenopodiaceae
Where found
Woodland, shrubland, grassy areas, disturbed sites, and areas subject to inundation. Western Slopes.
Notes
Shrub or annual or perennial herb to about 1.5 m tall, with many entangled branches. Stems hairless to hairy. Leaves alternating up the stems, 0.5-2.5 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, often flat, hairy to hairless. Flowers tiny (less than 3 mm in diameter), cup-shaped, with 3-5 lobes, single. Burrs hairy to hairless, with three longer spines plus one or two shorter spines.
General Biosecurity Duty all NSW. Always check native vegetation requirements before undertaking control of a weedy native plant.
Var. muricata: Plant hairless or almost hairless, glaucous. Leaves linear to narrow oblong, mostly 0.5–1.5 cm long, rarely to 25 mm long. Burr bodies hairless, spines hairy with minute hairs.
Data deficient Vic.
Var. semiglabra: Stems and leaves sparsely hairy. Leaves somewhat wider than those of the other two varietes, never linear, 0.5–1 cm long. Burrs somewhat woolly only when young.
Data deficient Vic.
Var. villosa: Stems minutely woolly. Leaves densely hairy at least when young, linear to narrow elliptic. Burrs woolly when mature.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Sclerolaena~muricata (accessed 6 February, 2021)
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