Curtis’ Colobanth is a small perennial herb growing to 40 mm high. It requires bare ground for recruitment from seed and responds well to some disturbance such as grazing. The species flowers from November to February and is largely self-pollinated.The leaves of Curtis’ Colobanth are soft and narrow, tapering from the base to an apex, terminating with fine hairs. The leaves are 25-30 mm long and 1-2 mm wide. The leaves are crowded at the base, which spreads to form circular tuffs. The leaf blade has smooth margins. The flowers are solitary on the end of a 2.5-3 cm long stalk. The flowers do not have petals, but instead have five green sepals. These sepals are narrow-triangular in shape, 4.5 mm long and 1-1.5 mm wide, terminating in a fine hair-like tip. The capsules are oval and seeds are red-brown, 0.5 mm long and 0.3 mm wide.
Curtis' Colobanth |
Colobanthus curtisiae
Status: Vulnerable on the EPBC Act list
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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Australian Government, Conservation Advice, Colobanthus curtisiae
Walsh (2010) describes no particular threats in Victoria; other than drying warming tendencies that many alpine sites face.