Goodenia is a genus of about two hundred species of flowering plants in the family Goodeniaceae. Plants in this genus are herbs or shrubs, mostly endemic to Australia. The leaves are variably-shaped, the flowers arranged in small groups, with three or five sepals, the corolla bilaterally symmetrical and either fan-shaped with two "lips" or tube-shaped. The petals are usually yellow to white, the stamens free from each other and the fruit a capsule.[1] [2]
The genus Goodenia was first formally described in 1793 by James Edward Smith in his book A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland and the first species he described was G. ramosissima,[3] [4] now known as Scaevola ramosissima.[5] The name Goodenia honours Bishop of Carlisle Samuel Goodenough, a member of the Linnean Society of London at the time.[6]
Most species of Goodenia are endemic to Australia but G. konigsbergeri is endemic to Southeast Asia.[7] G. armstrongiana,[8] G. purpurascens[9] and G. pumilio[10] extend to New Guinea and G. pilosa extends to the Philippines.[11] Species of Goodenia are found in all states, including in arid and semi-arid areas.