Corrigiola L.

Scientific Description

Family Caryophyllaceae.

Subfamily Paronychioideae, Tribe Corrigioleae.

Habit and leaf form. Herbs; non-laticiferous and without coloured juice. ‘Normal’ plants. Leaves well developed. Plants with roots; non-succulent; unarmed. Annual, or perennial. Leaves basal and cauline. To 0.25 m high. Self supporting, or climbing (decumbent). Mesophytic. Not heterophyllous. Leaves small, or medium-sized; not fasciculate; alternate; spiral; with blades; sessile; simple; not peltate. Leaf blades entire; flat. Mature leaf blades adaxially glabrous; abaxially glabrous. Leaves with stipules. Stipules scaly (scarious). Leaf blade margins entire; flat. Leaf anatomy. Hairs absent; glandular hairs absent.

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

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’. Inflorescence many-flowered (‘numerous’). Flowers in cymes. Inflorescences compound. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences axillary (or lateral). Flowers pedicellate; bracteate (inconspicuous); minute; regular; tetracyclic. Free hypanthium present (shortly perigynous). Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10; 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx present; 5; 1 -whorled; polysepalous; glabrous; valvate; persistent. Corolla present; 5; 1 -whorled; polypetalous; contorted, or imbricate (rarely); white. Petals oblong to ovate; sessile. Corolla members entire. Androecium present. Fertile stamens present. Androecium 5. Androecial members all equal; free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 5; isomerous with the perianth. Anthers separate from one another; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; bilocular; tetrasporangiate. Fertile gynoecium present. Gynoecium 1 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious; superior. Ovary unilocular; 1 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 3; free; simple. Stigmas 3; 1 - lobed. Placentation free central, or basal. Ovules in the single cavity 1; campylotropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit ca 1 mm long; not hairy; indehiscent; a nut (—a trigonous nutlet). Dispersal unit the seed. Fruit 1 seeded. Perisperm present. Seeds minute.

Geography, cytology, number of species. Holarctic. Adventive. Not endemic to Australia. Australian states and territories: Western Australia and Victoria. South-West Botanical Province. 2n=16, 18, 32. A genus of ca 11 species; 1 species in Western Australia; 0 endemic to Western Australia.

Additional comments. The inclusion of Tribe Corrigioleae in the Caryophyllaceae is doubted by some authors (Bittrich 1993:216). The roots of C. litoralis (nearly cosmopolitan) are used for medicinal purposes.