Square Cicendia and Slender Cicendia - introduced
(*Cicendia quadrangularis and *Cicendia filiformis)

Family: Gentianaceae (Gentian family).

Natives of USA (Square Cicendia) and Europe, Asia and Africa (Slender Cicendia).

Occurrence: Widespread weeds in bushland areas, particularly in damp valley-flats, and other damp places.

Identification:

• both are slender diminutive plants, often to about 5 cm high
• the flowers are have four yellow petals and are at the end of the stems
• there are paired tiny leaves about midway along the stems.

The two are similar in appearance.

• The flower-bases of Square Cicendia are more or less are square in cross section; the flower-bases of Slender Cicendia are round in cross section.
• the leaves of Square Cicendia are much broader than those of Slender Cicendia
• the lobes of the green calyx of Square Cicendia are short (much less than a quarter of the length of the calyx) and numerous; Slender Cicendia has four lobes which are about a quarter of the length of the calyx.

Photos 1: Square Cicendia. Strathlea Forest.

2: Dried specimens of Square Cicendia, Metcalfe. 3: Slender Cinendia, Muckleford Forest. 3: Sender Cicendia, Chewton Cemetery.