Wiry Podolepis
Intermediate Plant from above
Murray Mallee Region
Wiry Podolepis
Flower Bud
 
                      
Wiry Podolepis (Podolepis capillaris)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida)
Order: Sunflowers (Asterales)
Family: Daisy (Asteraceae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Wiry Podolepis (Podolepis capillaris)
This Photo:     🔍Mature Plant🔎
Synonym: Siemssenia capillaris
Other name: Invisible Plant

Thank you Byron Golledge for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found in the Murray Mallee SA, Riverland and possibly elsewhere
It's hard to believe the immature plant is the same species. But Darren Schmitke has monitored the growth of one to see it go from this stage to adult, where all the leaves wither and flower stems go wiry.
With the intermediate plant shots (green plant in the background is a different species) the focus of the photos an attempt to show the species in mid-cycle; from all leaves to no leaves.

Copyright © 2020-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 05-Sep-2020
This species is classed as LC (Least Concern) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)