''Coopernookia'' is a plant genus of six species of small

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

shrubs that are all

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Australia. They have hairy, often sticky leaves, and flowers with bilateral symmetry.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Coopernookia'' are small shrubs covered with star-like, often

glandular In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

hairs that are often sticky. The leaves are

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

or almost so, sometimes have toothed edges and sometimes have their edges curled under. The flowers are arranged on the ends of branches, surrounded by leaves. The flowers are zygomorphic, meaning that they have bilateral symmetry. Each flower has five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s and a white, mauve or pinkish corolla. The lobes of the corolla are unequal in size and broadly winged. The stamens are free from each other and the ovary is inferior.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Coopernookia'' was first formally described in 1968 by Roger Carolin in ''

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales ( Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society suc ...

''. The first species added to the new genus was '' Coopernookia barbata'', previously known as ''Goodenia barbata'' R.Br., and it is therefore the type species. Carolin considered ''Coopernookia'' to be intermediate between '' Scaevola'' and ''

Goodenia ''Goodenia'' is a genus of about two hundred species of flowering plants in the family Goodeniaceae. Plants in this genus are Herbaceous plant, herbs or shrubs, mostly Endemism, endemic to Australia. The leaves are variably-shaped, the flowers ar ...

''. The name ''Coopernookia'' refers to the Coopernook State Forest, where one of the species, '' C. chisholmii'' is common.

Species

Six species are accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

* '' Coopernookia barbata'' ( R.Br.) Carolin – N.S.W., Vic., Tas.(presumed extinct in Tasmania) * '' Coopernookia chisholmii'' ( Blakely) Carolin – N.S.W. * '' Coopernookia georgei'' Carolin – W.A. * '' Coopernookia polygalacea'' ( de Vriese) Carolin – W.A. * '' Coopernookia scabridiuscula'' Carolin – Qld. * '' Coopernookia strophiolata'' (

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vic ...

) Carolin – W.A., S.A.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5167935 Goodeniaceae Asterales genera Flora of Australia