Radyera Bullock

Scientific Description

Family Malvaceae.

Tribe Hisbisceae.

Habit and leaf form. Shrubs (with a stellate-tomentose indumentum). Plants unarmed. To 0.5–1.5 m high. Mesophytic and xerophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral; non-sheathing; simple. Leaf blades dorsiventral; entire, or dissected (sometimes shallowly-lobed); ovate, or orbicular (mostly cordate); cordate. Mature leaf blades adaxially woolly; abaxially woolly. Leaves with stipules (with paired stipular nectaries in R. farragei). Leaf blade margins crenate. Leaf anatomy. Hairs present; complex hairs present. Complex hairs stellate.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite. Entomophilous.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in panicles. Inflorescences axillary. Flowers pedicellate; medium-sized; regular; 5 merous; tetracyclic. Hypogynous disk absent. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10; 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx present; 5; 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; lobed; lobulate (5-lobed); hairy; valvate; exceeded by the corolla; regular. Calyx lobes triangular. Epicalyx present (of basally connate bracteoles). Corolla present; 5; 1 -whorled; polypetalous (adnate to the base of the staminal column); hairy abaxially; purple (i.e. lavender to purplish). Androecium present. Androecial members indefinite in number. Androecium 50–100 (i.e. ‘many’). Androecial members adnate; all equal; coherent (connate; the filaments fused in a column surrounding the style); 1 - adelphous (the tube attached to the petals); 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens (or rather, half-stamens, each having only a half anther). Stamens 50–100. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; unilocular. Pollen grains spinulose. Gynoecium 5 carpelled. The pistil 5 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 5 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; simple; apical. Stigmas 1 (cushion-like); 5 - lobed; capitate. Placentation axile.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; hairy; dehiscent; a capsule. Capsules septicidal (to some degree), or loculicidal (by 10 valves). Dispersal unit the seed. Seeds endospermic (copious); not compressed (ellipsoid); not conspicuously hairy. Embryo other than straight, curved, bent or coiled (flat).

Geography, cytology, number of species. World distribution: South Africa and Australia. Native of Australia. Not endemic to Australia. Australian states and territories: Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, New South Wales, and Victoria. South-West Botanical Province. N=18 for R. faragei. A genus of 2 species; 1 species in Western Australia; 0 endemic to Western Australia.