Family Emblingiaceae

Emblingiaceae (Pax) Airy Shaw

~ Polygalaceae

Habit and leaf form. Herbs (prostrate ‘subshrub’). Perennial; with neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves opposite (to subopposite); with cartilaginous margins; petiolate; simple; epulvinate. Lamina entire; subrhomboid. Leaves minutely stipulate; without a persistent basal meristem.

Reproductive type, pollination. Plants hermaphrodite.

Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers solitary; axillary; very irregular. The floral irregularity 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; gamosepalous; unequal but not bilabiate (‘posticously dimidiate’). Corolla 2 (anticous); 1 whorled; gamopetalous (the petals laterally connate into a slipper-like structure, hooded at the apex, externally sericeous); unequal but not bilabiate.

Androecium 8, or 9. Androecial members free of the perianth; free of one another. Androecium including staminodes. Staminodes 4–5 (posticous). Stamens 4 (anticous); diplostemonous; both alternating with and opposite the corolla members.

Gynoecium 1 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled. Gynoecium monomerous; of one carpel; superior (apically two-winged).

Fruit non-fleshy. The fruiting carpel indehiscent; pendulous within the calyx from the apex of the gynophore, with the thin pericarp adherent to the seed. Seeds scantily endospermic. Embryo well differentiated. Embryo bent (conduplicate).

Physiology, biochemistry. Iridoids not detected (S.R. Jensen, unpublished).

Geography, cytology. Western Australia.

Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Crassinucelli. Dahlgren’s Superorder Violiflorae (re-assigned from Rutiflorae); Violales (?). Cronquist’s Subclass Rosidae; Polygalales. APG 3 core angiosperms; core eudicot; Superorder Rosanae; malvid; Order Brassicales.

Species 1. Genera 1; only genus, Emblingia.