Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Acaena echinata

Flowers. Photographer Richard Hartland, White Elephant Reserve, Vic

Stem with young seeds. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer AN Schmidt-Lebuhn, Koorawatha Nature Reserve south west of Cowra.

Seeding plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Woodstock Nature Reserve, ACT

Common name

Sheep's burr

Family

Rosaceae

Where found

Dry forest, woodland, grassy sites, and roadsides. Western Slopes, Kosciuszko National Park, the mountains to the north, ACT, tablelands, and ranges. Coastal south of Moruya.

Notes

Perennial herb to 0.7 m tall. 'Seeds' with many hooked spines, which stick to clothing. Stems hairless or sparsely appressed hairy. Leaves alternating up the stems, compound, mostly 0.8-1.5 cm long, with 9-25 leaflets, the longest 1-2.3 cm long, 3-13 mm wide, margins deeply lobed or toothed, and flat or curved down, upper surface hairless or sparsely hairy, lower surface hairless except along the main vein and margins. Flowers small, with 4-6 sepals and 0 petals, and dark purple stamens. Flowers and 'seeds' in long interrupted spikes.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

Subspecies as described in PlantNET are not recognised by the Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (accessed 20 April 2021).

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Acaena~echinata (accessed 20 April 2021)