''Jovellana sinclairii'', commonly known as the New Zealand calceolaria, is an

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 elsew ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

shrub found in eastern and central

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

forests. In the family

Calceolariaceae Calceolariaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that has been recently segregated from Scrophulariaceae. The family includes three genera, ''Calceolaria'', '' Porodittia'', and '' Jovellana'', but analysis suggests that th ...

, it has white, bell shaped flowers with spots of purple on the inside.

Description

''Jovellana sinclairii'' is a

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 wide ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

which grows into 1 by 1.8 m rounded shrubs. The leaves are 2 - 8 cm by 2 - 5 cm and grow opposite each other, suspended off of 8.2 by 2.3 mm petioles. Above they are a dark to yellow green and light green below. The plant's stems can be up to 80 cm long and are green or red, the bases of which becoming woody with age. It has 30cm long

inflorescences An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

with cream white flowers growing off of 3cm long

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

. The flowers are 4.8 - 10.2 mm long and have spots of purple with 2 concave lips and a 2 mm long calyx. The

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

are suborbicular (approximately circular) with short filaments. The seeds are 0.35 - 0.6 mm long and are dark red - brown concealed within an egg shaped 3.8. - 4.2 mm long capsule. It fruits from October to February and disperses its seeds by wind and possibly water. ''Jovellana sinclairii'' looks similar to the other species in the genus ''

Jovellana ''Jovellana'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Calceolariaceae. It was formerly included in Scrophulariaceae, and is still listed by some authorities as belonging there. However, recent molecular research indicates that the family Scr ...

'' endemic to New Zealand; ''

Jovellana repens ''Jovellana repens'' is an endemic New Zealand plant in the family Calceolariaceae spread through both the North and South Islands. It has small green leaves and white flowers with spots of purple on the inside. Description ''Jovellana repens' ...

'', though it has smaller leaves, flowers, and typically fewer flowers in each

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

. It also grows into a mat as opposed to the small shrubs ''Jovellana sinclairii'' forms. File:Jovellana sinclairii kz4.jpg, Top side of the leaf File:Jovellana sinclairii Leaf close up underside.png, Underside of leaf File:Jovellana sinclairii kz3.jpg, Full

File:Jovellana sinclairii flower close up 2.png,

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

close up

Etymology

''Jovellana'' honours the 18th century patron of Botany

Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (born Gaspar Melchor de Jove y Llanos, 5 January 1744 – 27 November 1811) was a Spanish neoclassical statesman, author, philosopher and a major figure of the Age of Enlightenment in Spain. Life and influence of ...

and ''sinclairii'' is after Andrew Sinclair, a Colonial Secretary of New Zealand and naturalist (c.1796 - 1861).

Cultivation

It is easily grown from both seed and cuttings. Prefers a sheltered shady / semi-shady location in well drained soil.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17744802 Lamiales Flora of New Zealand