''Bertya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Bertya'' are shrubs, usually

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system comparable with gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy, and contras ...

, with simple leaves, flowers arranged singly in leaf axils, male flowers with many

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s, female flowers usually smaller and narrower than male flowers, and the fruit a capsule containing a single seed.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Bertya'' are usually monoecious, often sticky shrubs, either

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

or covered with woolly, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are usually arranged alternately, simple, sessile or on a short petiole, flat or with the ends curved downwards, and lack

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

s. The flowers are sessile or on a short pedicel, usually singly, or in

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

-like clusters on a peduncle in leaf axils. Male flowers usually have no petals, but many stamens with their bases fused, and no styles. Female flowers are small and narrower, have no petals, the

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

usually with three

locule A locule (: locules) or loculus (; : loculi) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usually refers to a chamber within an ovary ...

s and three styles fused at the base. The fruit is a capsule, usually containing a single oval, elliptic or oblong seed with a creamy-white to yellowish caruncle.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Bertya'' was first described in 1845 by

Jules Émile Planchon Jules Émile Planchon (21 March 1823 – 1 April 1888) was a French botanist born in Ganges, Hérault. He was a brother of Gustave Planchon who also studied medicinal plants. Biography After receiving his Doctorate of Science at the Universit ...

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botany, botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew Gardens, Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botan ...

's ''London Journal of Botany''. The name of the genus (''Bertya'') honours the French botanist and horticulturist Count Léonce de Lambertye.

Species list

The following is a list of ''Berytia'' species accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...

and

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

as at January 2025:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4895936 Euphorbiaceae genera Endemic flora of Australia Taxa named by Jules Émile Planchon