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Murchisonia Brittan

This name is not current. Find out more information on related names.

Reference
J.Roy.Soc.Western Australia 54:95, Fig. 1-2 (1972)
Name Status
Not Current

Scientific Description

Family Anthericaceae.

Sometimes included in Liliaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Herbs; evergreen, or deciduous. Leaves well developed, or absent. Perennial; plants with a basal concentration of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal concentrations of leaves; rhizomatous, or tuberous. Self supporting, or climbing. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves alternate; spiral, or distichous; ‘herbaceous’, or leathery, or membranous; sessile; sheathing. Leaf sheaths not tubular; with free margins. Leaves edgewise to the stem, or with ‘normal’ orientation; simple. Leaf blades entire; solid; terete; linear, or lanceolate, or oblong, or ovate; long; parallel-veined; without cross-venules; sheathing. Leaves ligulate, or eligulate; without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire. Leaf anatomy. Hairs absent. Extra-floral nectaries absent. Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening absent.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries present. Nectar secretion from the gynoecium (from septal nectaries).

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in umbels. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose, or racemose (simple or compound). Inflorescences scapiflorous; terminal; flowers in ones or twos on the branches or in few-flowered umbels; with involucral bracts, or without involucral bracts; pseudanthial, or not pseudanthial. Flowers pedicellate; bracteate (2 subtend 1 or 2 flowers, linear-lanceolate), or ebracteate; ebracteolate; small, or medium-sized; regular; 3 merous; cyclic; pentacyclic, or tetracyclic. Perigone tube present. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla (the whorls rather different), or of ‘tepals’; 6; 2 -whorled (3+3); isomerous; joined; petaloid; similar in the two whorls, or different in the two whorls; green, or white (or greenish-white), or purple (pale). Calyx (if the outer whorl so interpreted) 3; 1 -whorled; regular. Corolla (if the inner whorl so interpreted) 3; 1 -whorled; regular. Corolla members sometimes fringed. Androecial members definite in number. Androecium 6. Androecial members adnate; all equal; free of one another; 1 -whorled, or 2 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens, or including staminodes. Staminodes when present, 3. Stamens 6; all more or less similar in shape; isomerous with the perianth, or diplostemonous; on the perianth; alterniperianthial, or oppositiperianthial. Anthers dorsifixed, or basifixed; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Gynoecium 3 carpelled. The pistil 3 celled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; synstylovarious, or eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 3 locular; sessile. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical (or nearly so). Stigmas 1; 2–3 - lobed. Placentation axile. Ovules 2 per locule; arillate, or non-arillate; campylotropous (generally), or anatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit non-fleshy; dehiscent; usually a capsule. Capsules loculicidal. Seeds endospermic. Cotyledons 1. Embryo straight to curved.