Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Haloragis heterophylla

Male flower and leaf. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Gundary Reserve east of Goulburn

Female flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Gundary Reserve east of Goulburn

Stems with seed cases. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, west of Armidale

Plants with flowers and seed cases. Photographer Don Wood, Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve, ACT

Common name

Rough Raspwort, Variable Raspwort

Family

Haloragaceae

Where found

Woodland, grassy areas, roadsides, and moist sites, stream banks, drainage lines, and swampy areas. Widespread. Coastal mainly in the Sydney area.

Notes

Perennial herb to 0.5 m high, spreading by thin underground stems. Stems 4-ribbed, rough with hooked hairs or hairless. Leaves mostly alternating up the stems, the lowermost almost opposite each other, 0.8–5 cm long, rough, variable in shape, linear to deeply divided with 3-5 lobes, the lobes 1-2 mm wide. Flowers red, pink, or purplish, 3-4 mm long, with 4 petals each 2–3.2 mm long. Male and female flowers on the same plant, male flowers above, female flowers below. Flowers in 1–3-flowered clusters. Flowers Spring-Summer. Seed cases 1.5-2.5 mm long, pear-shaped, 4-ribbed, sometimes angled (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see).

Intergrades, possibly hybridizes, with Haloragis aspera in Vic.

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

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Haloragis~heterophylla  (accessed 19 January, 2021)