Roycea C.A.Gardner

Scientific Description

Family Chenopodiaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Shrubs, or herbs. ‘Normal’ plants, or switch-plants. Plants succulent, or non-succulent; spiny, or unarmed. The spines foliar. Perennial. Leaves cauline (ass.). 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, or opposite (or ‘indeterminate’ clustered); spiral, or distichous; fleshy; sessile; simple; epulvinate. Leaf blades entire; solid; ovate (to triangular), or triangular (narrowly); often spurred. Leaves without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem. Leaf anatomy. Hydathodes present, or absent. Hairs woolly or silky-pubescent when young. Extra-floral nectaries absent.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite, or functionally male, or functionally female. Unisexual flowers present, or absent. Plants hermaphrodite, or dioecious. Female flowers without staminodes. Male flowers with pistillodes.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary; axillary; sessile; ebracteate; ebracteolate; minute, or small; regular; cyclic. Free hypanthium present. 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; imbricate; urceolate (to globose, in female flowers), or cupuliform (to ovoid, in male flowers); fleshy, or non-fleshy; persistent (in the fruit); non-accrescent. The fruiting calyx not berrylike; wingless, spineless and without tubercles. Calyx lobes ovate, or obovate. Corolla absent. Fertile stamens present, or absent. Androecial members definite in number. Androecium 5. Androecial members free of the perianth, or adnate (to the base of the perianth); all equal (ass.); coherent (united at base into a narrow disc); when coherent 1 - adelphous (connate at the base); 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 5; all more or less similar in shape (ass.); isomerous with the perianth; alternisepalous. Anthers bent inwards in bud; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; tetrasporangiate. Fertile gynoecium present, or absent. Gynoecium (2–)5 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious to synstylovarious; superior. Ovary unilocular; 1 locular; sessile (ass.). Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; partially joined. Stigmas 2–3. Placentation basal. Ovules in the single cavity 1; pendulous, or ascending; non-arillate; campylotropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy (thin, crustaceous); indehiscent; capsular-indehiscent, or a nut; without fleshy investment; 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 curved.

Etymology. After Robert Dunlop Royce (b.1914), curator of the Perth herbarium 1960–74.