Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Sida spinosa

Flowering stems. Australian Plant Image Index, Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants key, photographer unknown

Seed cases on leafy stems. Australian Plant Image Index, Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants key, photographer unknown

Line drawings. USDA NRCS PLANTS Database. Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Vol. 2: 520.

Common name

Spiny sida

Family

Malvaceae

Where found

Woodland, grassy areas, roadsides, crops, disturbed sites, waste areas, and near streams. Sydney area north of Picton.

Notes

Introduced shrub to 1 m high. Stems stellate hairy (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see), often becoming hairless. Leaves alternating up the stems, 1–9 cm long, 6-18 mm wide. Flowers with 5 yellow petals each 5-7 mm long. Flowers single or 2–5 together on stalks 3–6 mm long elongating to 15 mm long in seed. 'Seeds' with with 2 conspicuously erect points or spines.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Sida~spinosa  (accessed 7 February, 2021)