Skip to main content

Service Notice

The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system and census were set to read-only mode on 1 October 2025. Taxonomic updates published since this time are not being reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or Western Australia’s taxonomic names census (Nomos). Conservation listings displayed on Florabase may also be out of date. Please refer to DBCA’s Threatened species and communities webpage for the most recent Threatened and Priority Flora List, noting that recent taxonomic updates are similarly not included. Our database migration is moving to a staging phase. We thank you for your patience as we ensure the integrity of our biodiversity data, develop new workflows, and train staff to use the new systems. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

The notice period started at 12:00 pm on Wednesday, 1 October 2025 +08:00 and will end at 12:00 pm on Friday, 1 January 2027 +08:00.

Advanced Search

Thecanthes Wikstr.

This name is not current. Find out more information on related names.

Reference
Kongl.Vetensk.Acad.Handl. 271 (1818)
Name Status
Not Current

Scientific Description

Family Thymelaeaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Herbs. Annual. Leaves basal and cauline. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves small to medium-sized; opposite; decussate; ‘herbaceous’, or leathery (sometimes ericoid); petiolate to subsessile; gland-dotted, or not gland-dotted; simple. Leaf blades entire; flat, or rolled; ovate, or obovate, or linear; pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves without stipules; without a persistent basal meristem.

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

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; condensed in racemes, or in heads. The terminal inflorescence unit racemose. Inflorescences terminal; peduncle expanded at apex into a funnel- shaped receptacle passing into involucral bracts; with involucral bracts (bracts 4, sessile); pseudanthial, or not pseudanthial. Flowers pedicellate. Pedicels flattened. Flowers bracteolate, or ebracteolate; regular. Floral receptacle markedly hollowed. Free hypanthium present; ovary-portion fusiform, style-portion longer and narrower. Hypogynous disk present, or absent; of separate members, or annular. Perianth sepaline (the corolla missing); 4; 1 -whorled. Calyx present; 4; 1 -whorled; polysepalous, or gamosepalous; blunt-lobed; imbricate; tubular; unequal but not bilabiate, or regular; white, or cream, or orange, or red, or pink, or purple; (tube) persistent. Corolla absent. Androecial members definite in number. Androecium 2. Androecial members free of the perianth; all equal; free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 2; attached on the rim of the hypanthium; all more or less similar in shape; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth; oppositisepalous; filantherous, or with sessile anthers. Anthers basifixed; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Gynoecium 2 carpelled (1 aborting early). The pistil 1 celled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary unilocular; 1 locular (at maturity). Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical, or lateral. Placentation parietal, or apical. Ovules in the single cavity 1; pendulous; epitropous; with ventral raphe; arillate (or carunculate); anatropous, or hemianatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; indehiscent; achene-like, or a berry, or a drupe. Seeds endospermic, or non-endospermic. Cotyledons 2 (flat, expanded). Embryo straight.

Etymology. From the Greek for "envelope, sac" and "flower", presumably referring to the sack-like concave receptacle and attached bracts enclosing the flowers.