Alice Springs Flora •
Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Bougainvillea Apple Bush Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander
Belonging to the family Plantaginaceae, Stemodia viscosa is an erect aromatic perennial herb, that can grow up to about 1 metre high.
Can be found growing across Central Australia, especially common in damp and sheltered areas along creeks and gorges. Pictured was found growing in the Todd River, very close to a pool of water that was still in the river bed. Also common in the Top End and Western Australia.
The branches/stems, leaves and bracteoles have dense glandular hairs. The leaves are 30-60 mm long and are arranged opposite or in whorls of 3 basal leaves. The leaves are obovate to elliptic in shape with margins serrate.
The flowers in racemes or panicles that are borne singly in axils of leafy bracts with corollas purple inside and with a yellow patch inside.
It’s fragrant leaves is known to be used as a medicine for colds and flus by the local Aboriginal people.
Common name
Stemodia, Sticky Blue-rod, Pinty-pinty. It is known by a number of aboriginal names including inteng-inteng (Alyawarr) (Latz 1995), pintye-pintye (Eastern Arrernte / Western Arrernte) (Latz 1995), pirnte-pirnte (Eastern Arrernte) (Henderson and Dobson 1994), inteng-intenge (Kaytetye) (Turpin 2012), intiyanu (Pitjantjatjara) (Latz 1995) (Goddard 1992), manyani, parntinjarlpa (Warlpiri) (Latz 1995), jirrpirinypa (Warlpiri) (CCNT 1993), pintja-pintja (Western Arrernte) (Roennfeldt 2005). 2
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Charophyta
- Class: Equisetopsida
- Subclass: Magnoliidae
- Superorder: Asteranae
- Order: Lamiales
- Family: Plantaginaceae
- Genus: Stemodia
- Species: Stemodia viscosa
Footnote & References
- Many thanks for ID Meg Mooney, Alice Springs Field Naturalists Club Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/alicefieldnats
- Stemodia viscosa Roxb., FloraNT, Northern Territory Government, http://eflora.nt.gov.au/factsheet?id=5493
- Stemodia viscosa Roxb., Pagurda, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2916434
Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Bougainvillea Apple Bush Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander
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