''Goodenia pusilliflora'', commonly known as small-flower goodenia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to drier parts of southern Australia. It is a low-lying to ascending

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with oblong to egg-shaped leaves with toothed or lyrate edges, and

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s of small yellow flowers.

Description

''Goodenia pusilliflora'' is a low-lying to ascending herb with stems up to long. The leaves at the base of the plant are oblong to egg-shaped, sometimes narrow lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide, with toothed to lyrate edges. The flowers are arranged in racemes up to long with leaf-like

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s, each flower on a pedicel long. The sepals are elliptic, about long and the

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

is yellow, long and hairy towards the centre. The lower lobes of the corolla are about long with wings wide. Flowering mainly occurs from July to October and the fruit is a slightly flattened spherical capsule, long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Goodenia pusilliflora'' was first formally described in 1888 by

Ferdinand von Mueller 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 Vict ...

in ''

The Victorian Naturalist ''The Victorian Naturalist'' is a bimonthly scientific journal covering natural history, especially of Australia. It is published by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria and is received as part of the membership subscription of that club. From ...

''. In 1990, Roger Charles Carolin selected the specimens collected at the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers collected b
Charlotte Holding
as the lectotype. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''pusilliflora'') means "very small-flowered".

Distribution and habitat

This goodenia grows in a variety of communities where water lies after rain in the drier areas of Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.

Gallery

Image:P9270045 Goodenia pusilliflora.jpg, Flower and developing fruit Image:P9270041 Goodenia pusilliflora.jpg, Habit Image:PA220054 Goodenia pusilliflora seeds.jpg , Seeds

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17480094 pusilliflora Eudicots of Western Australia Flora of South Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1888 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller