Abstract of a manuscript in review based on work funded in part by the Australian Flora Foundation.

Soil properties associated with the habitats of central and southern Australian species of Frankenia L. (Frankeniaceae).
Lyndlee C. Easton, Sonia Kleindorfer
School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100,
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 5001.
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We examine the soil properties (soil texture, soil elements, pH, EC, exchangeable cations, water content at field capacity, gypsum content, carbonate content) from sites where populations of Frankenia species naturally occur in central and southern Australia. We test whether any suites of soil properties are correlated to species distribution. We also test whether any suites of soil properties are associated with seed packaging strategies (categorically larger-seeded species, smaller-seeded species). Discriminant Function Analyses revealed that populations clustered into species groups and into seed packaging categories based on soil properties. The inter-relationships of water content at field capacity, proportions of exchangeable cations, and gypsum and/or carbonate content provided the maximum discrimination to identify species clusters. The additional inter-relationship between pH and the K+:Na+ ratio further clustered populations into seed packaging categories. We demonstrate that the evolution of seed packaging strategies may have been directed by soil properties. We discuss this information in the context of considering the inclusion of Frankenia in salinity remediation, mine-site rehabilitation, or coastal revegetation projects.