Eremophea Paul G.Wilson

Scientific Description

Family Chenopodiaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Shrubs (small). Plants succulent; unarmed. Leaves cauline. Plants with a basal concentration of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal concentrations of leaves. Stems not ‘jointed’. Stem internodes solid. Helophytic to xerophytic. Leaves minute to large; alternate (floral leaves often clustered); spiral, or distichous; fleshy; sessile; simple; epulvinate. Leaf blades entire; flat, or solid; semi-terete; obovate (to narrowly obovate), or linear; attenuate at the base, or cuneate at the base, or oblique at the base, or rounded at the base. Leaves without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem. Leaf anatomy. Hydathodes present, or absent. Hairs present (tomentose all over with dendritic or stellate hairs); glandular hairs absent; complex hairs present, or absent. Branched hairs present, or absent. Extra-floral nectaries absent.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in cymes. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences axillary; 3-flowered cymes congested into a globular inflorescence due to close aggregation of floral leaves. Flowers ebracteate; ebracteolate; minute, or small; regular; cyclic. Hypogynous disk present, or absent. Perianth sepaline; 5; 1 -whorled; joined (imbricate); fleshy, or non-fleshy; persistent; accrescent, or non-accrescent. Calyx present; not replaced by accrescent bracteoles; (interpreting the perianth as such) 5; gamosepalous; blunt-lobed; imbricate; cupuliform; non-fleshy; persistent (in the fruit); accrescent. The fruiting calyx not berrylike; spiny. Corolla absent. Androecial members definite in number. Androecium 5. Androecial members free of the perianth, or adnate (to the base of the perianth); all equal; free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 5; all more or less similar in shape; isomerous with the perianth; oppositisepalous. Anthers bent inwards in bud; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; tetrasporangiate. Gynoecium (2–)5 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious to synstylovarious; superior. Ovary unilocular; 1 locular; sessile. Gynoecium stylate. Styles (1–)2–3(–4); partially joined. Placentation basal. Ovules in the single cavity 1; pendulous, or ascending; non-arillate; campylotropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; indehiscent; capsular-indehiscent, or a nut; 1 celled. Gynoecia of adjoining flowers combining to form a multiple fruit, or not forming a multiple fruit. Fruit 1 seeded. Seeds more or less non-endospermic. Perisperm present, or absent. Cotyledons 2. Embryo coiled, or curved, or bent.

Etymology. From the Greek for "desert" and "loving", in reference to the preferred habitat of E. spinosa.