Hemiandra Explained

Hemiandra is a genus of nine species of flowering plants of the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. Plants in the genus Hemiandra are shrubs with sessile leaves arranged in opposite pairs, petals with five lobes arranged in two "lips" and the fruit a capsule usually containing four nuts.

Description

Plants in the genus Hemiandra are prostrate to medium shrubs with rigid, leathery, sessile leaves arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers have five egg-shaped sepals fused at the base and five petals fused at the base to form a corolla with two "lips". The upper lip short of the corolla is erect with two lobes, the lower lip longer, spreading and three-lobed. The middle lobe itself often has two lobes. The flowers are white, pink or purple, often spotted in the throat. There are four stamens and a single style with two stigmas. The fruit is a capsule usually containing four nuts.[1]

Taxonomy

The genus Hemiandra was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen and the first species he described was Hemiandra pungens.[2] [3] The name Hemiandra means "half male", referring to the anthers that are 1-celled.[4]

Species list

The following is a list of species of Hemiandra accepted by the Australian Plant Census as at January 2021:[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hemigenia and Hemiandra . Western Australian Government Department of Environment and Conservation . 31 January 2021.
  2. Web site: Hemiandra. APNI. 31 January 2021.
  3. Book: Brown . Robert . Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805 . 1810 . London . 502 . 31 January 2021.
  4. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 86 . 3rd.
  5. Web site: Hemiandra . Australian Plant Census . 31 January 2021.