Turnsole

Chrozophora tinctoria (L.) Andrews

Family: - Euphorbiaceae.

Names:

Chrozophora is from the Greek words Khros meaning colour or dye and phoros meaning bearing.

Tinctoria means tincture, pigment or dye and refers to the dyes extracted from these plants.

Turnsole is a purple dye extracted from this plant.

Other Names:

Dyers Litmus Plant

Litmus Plant

Summary:

Grey, woolly, much branched annual, to 500 mm tall with yellow flowers and a three balled warty fruit. Hairs star shape when observed with a hand lens.

Description:

Cotyledons:

Two. Oval. Flat tip. Tapered base. Hairless. Obvious indented veins. Petiole shorter than blade.

First leaves:

Triangular. Rounded tip. Wavy edges. Hairless. Wrinkly. Obvious indented veins.

Leaves:

Alternate. Greyish.

Petiole - Long.

Blade - Diamond to egg-shaped, 20-40 mm long, prominent veins. Tip pointed. Sides shallowly, irregularly lobed to convex and smooth. Wavy edges. Wrinkled. Base tapered to squarish. Short bristly, star shaped hairs.

Stems:

Grey, erect, up to 500 mm. Many branched. Bristly, star shaped hairs.

Flower head:

Male flowers in short erect racemes with 1-4 female flowers drooping at the base.

Flowers:

Cream, 4 mm long. Has separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Male flowers have almost no stalk. Female flowers on stalks.

Ovary - 3 forked styles. 3 celled with 1 ovule per cell.
Sepals - Male flower - 5, lance shaped, 4 mm long. 5 deeply cut lobes.
Female flower - 10 sepals, 4 mm long.
Petals - Male flower - 5, parallel sided. 4 mm long. 5 deeply cut lobes.
Female flower - no petals.

Stamens - 5-10.

Anthers - 5-10 on a short column.

Fruit:

Large, drooping, warty capsule. In groups of 3 globular, warty, single seeded fruitlets, 7-8 mm long.

Seeds:

1 seed on each fruitlet.

Roots:

Key Characters:

Biology:

Life cycle:

Annual. Seeds germinate in spring and summer. Flowers in January.

Physiology:

Reproduction:

By seed.

Flowering times:

January in NSW.

Seed Biology and Germination:

Vegetative Propagules:

Hybrids:

Allelopathy:

Population Dynamics and Dispersal:

Origin and History:

Mediterranean, Europe, Middle East.

Distribution:

NSW, SA, VIC.

Habitats:

Climate:

Temperate.

Soil:

Plant Associations:

Significance:

Beneficial:

Source of the purple dye, Turnsole, used for colouring linen, pastries and cheeses.

Gums extracted.

Detrimental:

Weed of crops, roadsides and fallows.

Toxicity:

None reported.

Legislation:

None.

Management and Control:

Thresholds:

Eradication strategies:

Herbicide resistance:

Biological Control:

Related plants:

None.

Plants of similar appearance:

References:

Black, J.M. (1965). Flora of South Australia. (Government Printer, Adelaide, South Australia). P515.

Cunningham, G.M., Mulham, W.E., Milthorpe, P.L. and Leigh, J.H. (1992). Plants of Western New South Wales. (Inkata Press, Melbourne). P455.

Lamp, C. and Collet, F. (1990). A Field Guide to Weeds in Australia. (Inkata Press, Melbourne).

Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). #306.1.

Wilding, J.L. et al. (1987). Crop weeds. (Inkata Press, Melbourne). P103. Diagrams. Photos.

Acknowledgments:

Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.