Matthiola honours the Italian physician Pietro Andrea Mattioli (1500-1577).
Night-scented Stock - because the flowers emit a strong scent at night.
Other Names:
Two-horn Night Stock
Two-horn Stock.
Summary:
Annual herb.
Description:
Cotyledons:
Two. Elongated club to oval shaped, recumbent (tend to lie on the soil surface). Tip round. Base tapered. Stiff hairs. Spiny edges. Petiole shorter than blade and merging into it.
First leaves:
Spear shaped. Tip rounded. Edges irregularly lobed. Base tapered. Surface warty. Hairy with a downy appearance.
Leaves:
Strongly scented
Lower leaves;
Stipules -
Petiole - Short and merging.
Blade - Lobed more than halfway to the midrib. Woolly hairs.
Upper leaves;
Blade - Often narrow and not lobed.
Stems:
Flower stem - Up to 500 mm tall. Woolly or felted, star type hairs.
Flower head:
Flowers:
Almost stalkless. Large, 12-25 mm long by 40-45 mm diameter. Fragrant at night.
Ovary -
Sepals - 10-12 mm. Erect. Lateral ones pouched at the base.
Petals - Pink to purple. Large. 20-22 mm.
Stamens - 6. Spreading.
Anthers -
Fruit:
Cylindrical hairy pod. 50-150 mm long x 2-3 mm wide ending in a short notched stigma with 2 straight or incurved horns that are 5-8 mm long. Releases seed when ripe. Valves convex and 1 nerved. Seeds in a single row with even seeds attached to one side of the pod and odd seeds attached to the other by short stalks.
Seeds:
Oval, 2 mm long by 1 mm wide. Tip Round. Edges smooth. Base round. Winged. Flattened. Grooved.
Roots:
Taproot.
Key Characters:
Narrow, cylindrical, 2 horned pod. Night fragrance. Large purple flowers. Star type hairs. Winged seeds.
Biology:
Life cycle:
Annual or biennial. Seeds germinate in autumn to winter.
Physiology:
Reproduction:
Flowering times:
Most of the year.
Seed Biology and Germination:
Vegetative Propagules:
Hybrids:
Population Dynamics and Dispersal:
Origin and History:
Eastern Mediterranean region of Europe
Distribution:
SA, VIC.
Habitats:
Climate:
Mediterranean.
Soil:
Plant Associations:
Significance:
Beneficial:
Ornamental.
Detrimental:
Weed.
Toxicity:
Not recorded as toxic.
Symptoms:
Treatment:
Legislation:
None.
Management and Control:
Thresholds:
Eradication strategies:
Most of the Brassicaceae weeds have dormant seeds that continue to germinate throughout the season and for several years. They often mature and set seed very quickly. Manual removal is effective but must be done at least every 8-10 weeks. Once pods are formed, seed will often mature even if the plant has been uprooted. Soil disturbance often leads to a flush of seedlings.
Many are somewhat unpalatable, so grazing only offers partial control. They often flourish in undergrazed, sunny areas.
In bushland situations, fairly selective control can be achieved with 100 mL spray oil plus 0.1 g Eclipse® or 0.5 g Logran® in 10 L water. 5 mL Brodal® is often added to this mix to provide residual control of seedlings. Spray the plants until just wet from the seedling stage up to pod formation.
Isolated plants should be removed manually and burnt if flowering or seeding and a 10 m buffer area sprayed with 10 mL Brodal® in 10 L water.
500 mL/ha of glyphosate(450g/L) can be used at flowering to reduce the seed set of most species on roadsides without causing significant damage to most native plants.
Wick application with 1 part glyphosate(450g/L) in 2 parts water or overall spraying with 100 mL glyphosate(450g/L) in 10 L water provides reasonable control of most species though Wild Radish tends to regrow.
Herbicide resistance:
None reported.
Biological Control:
Related plants:
Common Stock (Matthiola incana).
Plants of similar appearance:
Radish, turnips and mustards.
References:
Black, J.M. (1965). Flora of South Australia. (Government Printer, Adelaide, South Australia). P372. Diagram.
Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). #804.2.
Moerkerk, M.R. and Barnett, A.G. (1998). More Crop Weeds. R.G. and F.J. Richardson, Melbourne. P71. Diagrams. Photos.
Acknowledgments:
Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.