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Lagunaria (DC.) Rchb.

Reference
Consp.Regn.Veg. 202 (1828)
Name Status
Current

Scientific Description

Family Malvaceae.

Tribe Hisbisceae.

Habit and leaf form. Trees, or shrubs (covered with small scurfy scales). Plants unarmed. To 8–25 m high. Mesophytic. Not heterophyllous. Leaves medium-sized; alternate; spiral; leathery; non-sheathing; simple. Leaf blades dorsiventral; entire; ovate, or oblong; pinnately veined, or palmately veined. Mature leaf blades adaxially scaly (peltate); abaxially scaly (peltate). Leaf anatomy. Hairs absent; complex hairs absent.

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

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary; axillary; medium-sized to large; regular; 5 merous; tetracyclic. Hypogynous disk absent. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10; 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx present; 5; 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; lobed; lobulate (5-lobed); valvate; exceeded by the corolla; regular. Calyx lobes triangular. Epicalyx present (of connate caducous bracteoles). Corolla present; 5; 1 -whorled; polypetalous (adnate to the base of the staminal column); hairy abaxially (slightly); glabrous adaxially; pink, or purple (i.e. pale pink to mauve). Androecium present. Androecial members indefinite in number. Androecium 50–100 (1.e. ‘many’). Androecial members adnate; all equal; coherent (connate; the filaments fused in a column surrounding the style); 1 - adelphous (the tube attached to the petals); 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens (or rather, half-stamens, each having only a half anther). Stamens 50–100. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; unilocular. Gynoecium 5 carpelled. The pistil 5 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synstylovarious to eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 5 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; more than 4-branched (5-branched); apical. Stigmas 5. Placentation axile. Ovules 5–10 per locule (i.e. ‘several’).

Fruit and seed features. Fruit 20–30 mm long; non-fleshy; hairy; dehiscent; a capsule (ovoid, covered with spicules). Capsules loculicidal. Dispersal unit the seed. Seeds endospermic (copious); medium sized; not conspicuously hairy. Testa more or less soft and fleshy.

Geography, cytology, number of species. World distribution: Australia. Native of Australia. Endemic to Australia. Australian states and territories: Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales. South-West Botanical Province. A genus of 1 species; 1 species in Western Australia; 0 endemic to Western Australia.

Etymology. From Lagunaea, the name of a related genus in which the only species was once placed.