''Pityrodia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the mint

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, Lamiaceae and is

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, most species occurring in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, a few in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

and one in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. Plants in this genus are shrubs with five petals joined to form a tube-shaped flower with four stamens of unequal lengths.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Pityrodia'' are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

shrubs with erect, usually cylindrical branches. The leaves are simple, net-veined and their bases partly wrap around the stem (

decurrent ''Decurrent'' (sometimes decurring) is a term used in botany and mycology to describe plant or fungal parts that extend downward. In botany, the term is most often applied to leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petio ...

). The flowers may occur singly or in groups and exhibit left-right symmetry. There are 5

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 which are joined at their bases and 5 petals joined to form a tube. The tube may have 5, unequally sized lobes at the tip or two "lips" - the upper lip having two lobes and the lower one three. There are four stamens with one pair longer than the other. The fruit is a drupe containing up to four seeds.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus was first described by Robert Brown in 1810. Brown published his description in ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

'' and designated '' Pityrodia salvifolia'' as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

. The name ''Pityrodia'' is an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

word meaning "scale-like". ''Pityrodia'' was originally included in the

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. The ...

. In a review of the genus in 1979, Ahmad Abid Munir included ''Pityrodia'' and nine other genera in a family Chloanthaceae, all endemic to Australia and sometimes referred to as "Australian Verbenaceae". The name Chloanthaceae has not been widely adopted and ''Pityrodia'' is now included in the Lamiaceae.

Distribution

In his 1979 paper, Munir described 27 species from Western Australia, 16 from the Northern Territory and one from Queensland, but in 2011,

Barry Conn Barry John Conn (Barry Conn, born 1948), is an Australian botanist. He was awarded a Ph.D. from Adelaide University in 1982 for work on ''Prostanthera''. Career Conn's first appointment as a botanist was with the Lae Herbarium in 1974. H ...

, Murray Henwood and Nicola Streiber transferred some species to '' Dasymalla'', '' Hemiphora'' and '' Quoya'' and raised a new genus '' Muniria'' to which four species of the former ''Pityrodia'' were transferred. A new species from Western Australia, ('' Pityrodia iphthima'') has since been described. The species remaining in ''Pityrodia'' are: *'' Pityrodia augustensis'' Munir - Mt. Augustus foxglove ( W.A. *'' Pityrodia byrnesii'' Munir ( N.T.) *'' Pityrodia canaliculata'' A.S.George (W.A.) *'' Pityrodia chrysocalyx'' (F.Muell.) C.A.Gardner (W.A.) *'' Pityrodia gilruthiana'' Munir (N.T.) *'' Pityrodia hemigenioides'' (F.Muell.) Benth. (W.A.) *'' Pityrodia iphthima'' K.A.Sheph. (W.A.) *'' Pityrodia jamesii'' Specht (N.T.) *'' Pityrodia lanuginosa'' Munir (N.T.) *'' Pityrodia lepidota'' (F.Muell.) E.Pritz. (W.A.) *'' Pityrodia loricata'' (F.Muell.) E.Pritz. (W.A., N.T., S.A.) *'' Pityrodia obliqua'' W.Fitzg. (W.A.) *'' Pityrodia puberula'' Munir (N.T.) *'' Pityrodia pungens'' Munir (N.T.) *'' Pityrodia salvifolia'' R.Br. ( Qld.) *'' Pityrodia scabra'' A.S.George (W.A.) *'' Pityrodia serrata'' Munir (N.T.) *'' Pityrodia spenceri'' Munir (N.T.) *'' Pityrodia ternifolia'' (F.Muell.) Munir - Golden bush (W.A., N.T.) *'' Pityrodia viscida'' W.Fitzg. (W.A.)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7199568 Lamiaceae genera Lamiales of Australia