Acrotriche depressa
R.Br.
Ericaceae
Styphelia depressa Spreng.
Common Name: Wiry Groundberry
General Information
Acrotriche depressa is an evergreen, low-growing, much-branched shrub that can grow up to 80cm tall and about 60cm wide..
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
Australia - Victoria, Southern Australia and Western Australia
Habitat
Sandy loams[
154- Title
- Flora of Victoria.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Ewart. A. J.
- Publisher
- University Press; Melbourne
- Year
- 1930
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.
]. Rocky hillsides, often lightly shaded by gum trees; growing in humus-rich, decomposed quartzite soils[
1054- Title
- Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 61
- Publication
- USDA Bureau of Plant Industry
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- USDA; Washington
- Year
- 1922
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants and seed imported into the USA in late 1919. It often contains information about the plants.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Habit | Evergreen Shrub |
| Height | 0.60 m |
| Growth Rate | Slow |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Acrotriche depressa is a plant of the semi-arid areas of southern Australia, growing in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range of 375 - 625mm[
1054- Title
- Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 61
- Publication
- USDA Bureau of Plant Industry
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- USDA; Washington
- Year
- 1922
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants and seed imported into the USA in late 1919. It often contains information about the plants.
].
Edible Uses
Fruit - raw or cooked[
144- Title
- Wild Food in Australia.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Cribb. A. B. and J. W.
- Publisher
- Fontana
- Year
- 1976
- ISBN
- 0-00-634436-4
- Description
- A very good pocket guide.
,
1054- Title
- Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 61
- Publication
- USDA Bureau of Plant Industry
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- USDA; Washington
- Year
- 1922
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants and seed imported into the USA in late 1919. It often contains information about the plants.
]. Very juicy[
1054- Title
- Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 61
- Publication
- USDA Bureau of Plant Industry
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- USDA; Washington
- Year
- 1922
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants and seed imported into the USA in late 1919. It often contains information about the plants.
]. It is usually astringent raw, and is much better cooked[
1054- Title
- Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 61
- Publication
- USDA Bureau of Plant Industry
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- USDA; Washington
- Year
- 1922
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants and seed imported into the USA in late 1919. It often contains information about the plants.
]. The fruit is borne in abundance, low-down on the main stems, and can be gathered in handfulls[
1054- Title
- Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 61
- Publication
- USDA Bureau of Plant Industry
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- USDA; Washington
- Year
- 1922
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants and seed imported into the USA in late 1919. It often contains information about the plants.
]. The purple, fleshy, ovoid fruit is up to 10mm long by 7mm wide, containing a single, woody seed.
Flowers (nectar)[
144- Title
- Wild Food in Australia.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Cribb. A. B. and J. W.
- Publisher
- Fontana
- Year
- 1976
- ISBN
- 0-00-634436-4
- Description
- A very good pocket guide.
]. The native Aborigines sucked the flowers for their sweet nectar, or soaked the flowers in water to make a sweet drink, which was sometimes fermented into a weakly alcoholic brew[
193- Title
- Wild Food Plants of Australia.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Low. T.
- Publisher
- Angus and Robertson.
- Year
- 1989
- ISBN
- 0-207-14383-8
- Description
- Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast
].
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed - very slow to germinate, it has morphophysiological dormancy and complex germination requirements. It will probably benefit from stratification[
1054- Title
- Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 61
- Publication
- USDA Bureau of Plant Industry
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- USDA; Washington
- Year
- 1922
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants and seed imported into the USA in late 1919. It often contains information about the plants.
]. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing.
In the wild the seed will often germinate after being several years in the soil[
1054- Title
- Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 61
- Publication
- USDA Bureau of Plant Industry
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- USDA; Washington
- Year
- 1922
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants and seed imported into the USA in late 1919. It often contains information about the plants.
].
From one seed collection, viability was measured at 65%.
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Useful Temperate Plants Database 2016 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
