''Hemiphora'' 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 ...

of five species of

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 ...

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 ...

. Plants in this genus are woolly shrubs with warty, hairy leaves and with five petals joined to form a tube-shaped flower with four stamens. These species are similar to those in the genus '' Chloanthes'' in that the base of the leaves extends down the stem. They differ from ''Chloanthes'', in that the leaves only extend a short distance down the stem.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Hemiphora'' 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 which have their stems, leaves and parts of their flowers densely covered with woolly hairs. The leaves are simple and are arranged in opposite pairs or in

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

of three, covered with woolly hairs and small blisters. The leaves appear narrow because their edges are turned under, so that the lower surface of the leaf is not visible. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils and are surrounded by leaf-like bracts and two

bracteoles 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 o ...

. Flowers have 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 which are joined at their base to form a very short tube with five lobes. The five petals are joined to form a curved tube with five lobes, the lower lobe roughly triangular in shape, the two side lobes and the upper two all similar in size and shape. There are four stamens sometimes with the lower pair shorter than the upper ones or sterile.

Taxonomy and naming

In 1876, Ferdinand von Mueller described ''Chloanthes elderi '' and placed it in the

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

Chloanthes sect. Hemiphora. In 1882, Mueller raised ''Hemiphora'' to genus so that '' Hemiphora elderi'' became 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 ...

of the new genus. 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 four species, previously in the genus ''

Pityrodia ''Pityrodia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae and is endemic to Australia, most species occurring in Western Australia, a few in the Northern Territory and one in Queensland. Plants in this genus are shrubs with ...

'' into ''Hemiphora''.

Distribution

All species of ''Hemiphora'' are endemic to Western Australia. The species are: *'' Hemiphora bartlingii'' (Lehm.) B.J.Conn & Henwood *'' Hemiphora elderi'' (F.Muell.) F.Muell *'' Hemiphora exserta'' (Benth.) B.J.Conn & Henwood *'' Hemiphora lanata'' (Munir) B.J.Conn & Henwood *'' Hemiphora uncinata'' (Turcz.) B.J.Conn & Henwood

References

External links

''Hemiphora'' occurrence data
from

Australasian Virtual Herbarium The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgama ...

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q15733497 Lamiaceae Endemic flora of Australia Lamiaceae genera Lamiales of Australia