Corrugated Sida
Flower & Leaf
Ellura
Corrugated Sida
Calyx
 
                      
Corrugated Sida (Sida corrugata)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida)
Order: Hibisci (Malvales)
Family: Mallow (Malvaceae)
Species: Corrugated Sida (Sida corrugata)
This Photo:     Flower, profile

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Generally darker green to Limestone Sida (Sida spodochroma), but S. spodochroma can be as green.
We differentiate them by the "hair" on the leaf and the habit.
S. corrugata has tufts of "hair" on an otherwise glaborous surface. While S. spodochroma is velted; very fine hair covering the whole leaf.
The petals on S. corrugata seem to be well separated, while Sida spodochroma petals seem to overlap more.
S. corrugata seems to have a more wood bush like appearance. S. spodochroma has much more of an annual, prostrate appearance. But this is probably more to do with the fact that S. spodochroma is so heavily grazed it barely gets a chance to age into a mature bush.
These are just our observations as it appears these plants confuse the experts as well. With the taxonomy sea sawing between different various species & sub-species. Both varieties are now also recognised as separate at a Federal level, not just at a State level.

Similar Species: Limestone Sida (Sida spodochroma)

Copyright © 2017-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 24-Jan-2017
This species is classed as RA (Rare) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)