Calandrinia volubilis
Benth. Twining PurslaneTwining annual or perennial with a thickened, sometimes almost tuberous taproot, stems ascending to c. 50 cm, simple or few-branched. Leaves all basal or within lower few cm of stems, linear to narrowly obovate or clavate, the largest 1.5–6 cm long, 2–10 mm wide, sessile, glabrous. Flowers rather distant on flexuose, twining scapes; bracts mostly opposite; pedicels typically 3–5 mm long at anthesis, elongating to c. 1 cm or more and up-curved in fruit; sepals broadly ovate or obovate, 2–3.5 mm long, broadly rounded or truncate, persistent; petals 5, 5–6 mm long, pale pink; stamens 5–8; style trifid to base. Capsule narrowly ovoid, 4.5–7.5 mm long, pale, splitting almost to base into 3 valves; seeds c. 30–40, c. reniform, 0.5–0.7 mm long, dark brown, papillate in close regular rows. Flowers Sep.–Oct.
LoM, MuM, MSB, RobP, MuF. Also SA, NSW. Largely restricted in Victoria to the far north-west in samphire and saltbush communities on saline flats and around salt lakes.
Walsh, N.G. (1996). Portulacaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 215–224. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
