Scientific Name: Muehlenbeckia axillaris

Common Name: matted lignum

Family Classification (Clade): Eudicots

Family: Polygonaceae

Threatened Species Status: Rare

Permit: It is an offence to collect, disturb, damage or destroy this species unless under permit.

Form Description: Dwarf, often matted shrub or climber with branches red-brown to blackish, prostrate to ascending, crowded or may be sparse.

Flowers: Very small, greenish in axillary or terminal clusters (few-flowered).

Fruit: Nut – long, shining, black. Nuts are enclosed in a small cone-shaped structure to 5mm long.

Municipality
Break O’DayCentral HighlandsKentishMeander ValleyNorthern MidlandsWaratah-WynyardWest Coast
Plant Communities
Alpine and Sub-alpine VegetationHeath
Habitat Notes

Occasional in alpine and deciduous heath at low altitude in eastern and central mountains especially in rocky places. Will tolerate short dry periods.

Site Tolerance

Exposed, Moist, Rocky, Shady, Windy

Soil Tolerance

Clay, Fertile, Loam, Nutrient-poor, Well-drained

Frost Tolerance

Hardy

General Notes

Useful for massed plantings, capable of forming an impenetrable barrier. Responds well to pruning or clipping.

Propagation Calendar

  • Flowering Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Seed Collecting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Sowing Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Cutting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Propagation Method
Seed, Cuttings

Seed Information

Seed Collection

Nuts release easily when ripe. Collect by hand.

Seed Treatment Method

Standard Scatter seed thinly on to damp potting mix. Hold seed in place by covering with more potting mix to approximately the depth of the seed size.

Cutting & Division Information

Propagated from cuttings of firm young growth or by division of layered stems.