Dolichandrone (Fenzl) Seem.

Scientific Description

Family Bignoniaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Trees, or shrubs. Leaves irregularly opposite, or whorled; leathery; petiolate; compound; pinnate; imparipinnate (usually). Leaflets 1–11. Leaves without stipules; without a persistent basal meristem. Stem anatomy. Nodes unilacunar. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring, or anomalous.

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

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’. Inflorescence few-flowered. Flowers in racemes. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose, or racemose. Inflorescences terminal. Flowers bracteate; ebracteolate; fragrant; very irregular. The floral asymmetry involving the perianth and involving the androecium. Flowers more or less 5 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic. Hypogynous disk present. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10, or 6 (by misinterpretation); 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx 5, or 1 (by misinterpretation); 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; entire; campanulate; unequal but not bilabiate (spathaceous, oblique, split to the base on the upper edge). Corolla 5; 1 -whorled; gamopetalous; imbricate; salverform, tube narrow; more or less regular, or bilabiate (obscurely). Corolla lobes broad, often undulate or crisped. Androecium 5. Androecial members adnate (to the corolla tube); markedly unequal; free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium including staminodes. Staminodes 1 (the posterior, adaxial member). Stamens 4; remaining included; didynamous; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth; oppositisepalous; all alternating with the corolla members. Anthers connivent, or separate from one another; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; bilocular (cells parallel). Gynoecium 2 carpelled. The pistil 2 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synstylovarious to eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 2 locular. Locules secondarily divided by ‘false septa’, or without ‘false septa’. Gynoecium median; stylate. Styles 1; attenuate from the ovary; apical. Stigmas 1; 2 - lobed; wet type; papillate; Group III type. Placentation axile. Ovules 6–50 per locule (‘many’); ascending; orthotropous, or hemianatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent; a capsule (more or less sessile, terete or compressed, 2-valved, usually coriaceous, with a narrow septum and a broad false septum). Capsules loculicidal. Fruit numerous-seeded. Seeds non-endospermic; winged (wings 2, broad, lateral). Cotyledons 2 (enlarged, foliaceous). Embryo straight.

Geography, cytology, number of species. Native of Australia. Not endemic to Australia. Australian states and territories: Western Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland. Northern Botanical Province.

Additional characters Corolla lobes spreading.