Zaluzianskya F.W.Schmidt

Scientific Description

Family Scrophulariaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Shrubs, or herbs. Annual, or perennial; plants with a basal concentration of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal concentrations of leaves; to 0.35 m high. Mesophytic. Leaves minute to medium-sized; opposite, or alternate and opposite (then alternate above); when alternate spiral, or four-ranked; ‘herbaceous’, or leathery, or membranous; petiolate to sessile; simple; epulvinate. Leaf blades entire; ovate, or elliptic; pinnately veined. Mature leaf blades adaxially glabrous; abaxially villous. Leaves without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire, or serrate. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem. Leaf anatomy. Hydathodes present (occasionally), or absent. Hairs present; glandular hairs absent. Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring.

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

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in racemes, or in spikes. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose, or racemose. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary (rarely). Flowers subsessile; bracteate; ebracteolate; small to medium-sized; very irregular; zygomorphic; 5 merous; tetracyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk present. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10; 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx present; 5; 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; lobed; erect; imbricate, or valvate; tubular; bilabiate; persistent; with the median member posterior. Corolla present; 5; 1 -whorled; gamopetalous; lobed. Corolla lobes markedly shorter than the tube. Corolla imbricate, or valvate; salverform; unequal but not bilabiate, or regular; glabrous abaxially; hairy adaxially; with contrasting markings; green, yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown; persistent. Corolla lobes oblong. Androecium (2–)4. Androecial members adnate (to the corolla); markedly unequal, or all equal (when only 2 members present); free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens, or including staminodes. Staminodes when present 2; representing the anterior-lateral pair. Stamens (2–)4; becoming exserted and remaining included (usually); didynamous; distinctly dissimilar in shape (usually); reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth; fertile stamens representing the posterior-lateral pair (when staminodes present), or the posterior-lateral pair and the anterior-lateral pair (usually), or the anterior-lateral pair (rarely, staminodes absent); oppositisepalous. Anthers dimorphic (usually); dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; unilocular (by confluence); tetrasporangiate. Gynoecium 2 carpelled. The pistil 2 celled. Gynoecium non-petaloid; syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 2 locular. Gynoecium median; stylate. Styles 1; simple; attenuate from the ovary, or from a depression at the top of the ovary; apical; becoming exserted. Stigmas 1; 1 - lobed. Placentation axile, or apical. Ovules 50 per locule (to ‘many’); pendulous to ascending; non-arillate; anatropous, or campylotropous, or hemianatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent; a capsule. Capsules septicidal. Fruit 50 seeded (to ‘many’). Seeds endospermic. Endosperm oily. Seeds minute to small; winged, or wingless. Cotyledons 2. Embryo straight to curved.

Special features. Calyx limb 5 lobed. Upper lip of calyx lobed; 3 lobed. Lower lip of calyx lobed; 2 lobed. Corolla tube exceeding the calyx; straight.

Geography, cytology, number of species. Adventive. Australian states and territories: Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria. South-West Botanical Province.

Etymology. After Adam Zaluziansky (1555–1613), a Polish doctor, in recognition of his little-known service to botany.