Emblingia F.Muell.

Scientific Description

Family Emblingiaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Prostrate shrubs (or ‘subshrub’). Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves opposite (to subopposite); with cartilaginous margins; petiolate; simple; epulvinate. Leaf blades entire. Leaves minutely with stipules; without a persistent basal meristem.

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

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary; axillary (usually lying on the soil surface); very irregular. The floral asymmetry involving the perianth and involving the androecium. Flowers cyclic; pentacyclic. Floral receptacle developing an androphore (inserted in a slit in the calyx). Free hypanthium absent. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 7; 2 -whorled; anisomerous. Calyx 5; 1 -whorled; partially gamosepalous (the members connate for about half of their length, except the two abaxial ones which are split to the base); unequal but not bilabiate (‘posticously dimidiate’). Corolla 2 (anticous); 1 -whorled; appendiculate (the two ventral appendages narrow, ribbon-like); gamopetalous (the petals laterally connate into a slipper-like structure, hooded at the apex, externally sericeous); unequal but not bilabiate; green to yellow, or orange. Androecium 8, or 9. Androecial members free of the perianth; coherent (basally). Androecium including staminodes. Staminodes 4–5 (posticous, basally connate forming a 4–5-lobed torus). Stamens 4 (anticous); diplostemonous. Gynoecium 3 carpelled. The pistil 3 celled. Carpels increased in number relative to the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior (apically two-winged). Ovary plurilocular; 3 locular (only one ovule develops). Gynoecium non-stylate (stigma sessile). Stigmas 1. Placentation axile. Ovules 1 per locule.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; indehiscent (the seed being released by decay of the flower and fruit on the soil surface); pendulous within the calyx from the apex of the gynophore, with the thin pericarp adherent to the seed; 1 seeded. Seeds reniform; scantily endospermic. Embryo well differentiated; bent (conduplicate), or curved.

Geography, cytology, number of species. Native of Australia. Endemic to Australia. Australian states and territories: Western Australia. South-West Botanical Province.

Additional characters Pollen grains 3- colporate (occasionally 4-colporate or more or less irregular).