Glinus L.

Scientific Description

Family Molluginaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Herbs; non-laticiferous and without coloured juice. ‘Normal’ plants. Leaves well developed. Plants with roots; unarmed; autotrophic. Annual. Leaves basal, or cauline. To 0.4 m high (often forming mats). Self supporting, or climbing; scrambling. Mesophytic. Not heterophyllous. Leaves medium-sized; alternate, or opposite; spiral (appearing whorled); with blades; ‘herbaceous’; petiolate; not connate; simple; not peltate; epulvinate. Leaf blades neither inverted nor twisted through 90 degrees; dorsiventral (in Australia); entire; flat; oblong (to circular). Mature leaf blades adaxially pubescent (stellate hairy), or glabrous; abaxially pubescent (stellate hairy), or glabrous. Leaves eligulate; with stipules. Stipules acute. Leaf blade margins entire; flat. Leaf anatomy. Hairs present, or absent; complex hairs present, or absent. Complex hairs stellate.

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

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’. Inflorescence many-flowered. Flowers in cymes. Inflorescences compound. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences axillary. Flowers pedicellate; ebracteolate; small; regular; not resupinate; 5 merous; cyclic; tricyclic. Free hypanthium absent, or present (rarely). Hypogynous disk present, or absent (rarely). Perianth sepaline; (4–)5; 1 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx present; (4–)5; 1 -whorled; polysepalous (in Australia); imbricate; green, or white; non-fleshy. Sepals ovate. Corolla absent. Androecium present. Fertile stamens present. Androecial members definite in number (in Australia). Androecium 3–20. Androecial members free of one another, or coherent (rarely connate in bundles); 2 -whorled (usually), or 1 -whorled. Androecium including staminodes, or exclusively of fertile stamens. Staminodes fewer than stamens. Stamens 3–20; diplostemonous, or isomerous with the perianth; alternisepalous. Anthers separate from one another; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; tetrasporangiate. Fertile gynoecium present. Gynoecium 3–5 carpelled. The pistil 3–5 celled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth, or isomerous with the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious to synstylovarious; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 3–5 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 3–5; free. Stigmas 3–5; 1 - lobed. Placentation axile. Ovules 3–5 per locule; anatropous to campylotropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit 3–4 mm long; dehiscent; a capsule. Capsules loculicidal. Dispersal unit the seed. Fruit 50 seeded (‘many’). Seeds non-endospermic. Perisperm present. Seeds minute.

Geography, cytology, number of species. Native of Australia, or adventive (G. lotoides L. and G. oppositifolius (L.) A. DC. have apparently become naturalised south of, and near Perth respectively (Wheeler 1992)). Not endemic to Australia. Australian states and territories: Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Australian Capital Territory. Northern Botanical Province, or South-West Botanical Province. A genus of 11 species; 3 species in Western Australia; 0 endemic to Western Australia.