Brunoniaceae
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''Brunonia australis'', commonly known as the blue pincushion or native cornflower, is a
perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
or
annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...
herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...
that grows widely across
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. It is found in woodlands, open forest and sand plains. In Cronquist's classification scheme it was the sole member of the monogeneric plant family Brunoniaceae. The
APG II The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Gro ...
system moved it into
Goodeniaceae Goodeniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asterales. It contains about 404 species in twelve genera. The family is distributed mostly in Australia, except for the genus '' Scaevola'', which is pantropical. Its species are found ac ...
, with which it shares the stylar pollen-cup, or indusium, a character confined to these taxa. ''Brunonia'' is unique among Goodeniaceae in its radially symmetric flowers, the superior ovary and the absence of endosperm in the seeds. The leaves are about 10 cm long and form a basal rosette. Flowering is usually in spring, with dense hemispherical clusters of numerous, small, bright blue flowers developing on several stems ( scapes) up to 50 cm in height.


Taxonomy

Specimens of ''Brunonia'' were first collected by
Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...
during the 1801–02 voyage of HMS ''Investigator'' under the command of
Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...
. The genus had not been published by early 1810, when members of the
Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...
sought to name a plant genus in Brown's honour. This genus was settled upon because it was so difficult to classify: "The genus under consideration is... exceedingly interesting, on account of its apparent relationship to several very different natural orders, and the great difficulty of referring it to any one in particular." The name ''Brunonia'' was chosen because a genus had already been named ''Brownea'' in honour of Patrick Browne, and ''Brunonia'' was seen as a compromise, "preserving as much resemblance to his name as possible, while I avoid all ambiguity with the Brownea previously established." In February 1810, James Edward Smith read a formal description of ''Brunonia'' to the Linnean Society. Two species were given: ''Brunonia australis'' and ''Brunonia sericea''. Later that year, Brown made use of Smith's names in his ''
Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a book by the botanist Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and ...
''. However, Smith's speech did not go to print until 1811, so priority of publication of the genus belongs to Brown not Smith. Thus Brown unwittingly violated a virtual botanical taboo, by naming a genus after himself. ''B. sericea'' was reduced to a variety of ''B. australis'' in 1907, and given synonymy with ''B. australis'' in 1992. A number of other species and variety have been published, but to date none have survived as current taxa except ''B. australis''.


Cultivation

This plant is easy to propagate from seed or by dividing existing plants. However, they can be difficult to establish and may die after a few years. They should be grown in well-drained soils either in full sun or partial shade.


References


External links

* *
Brunoniaceae
i
L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.
https://web.archive.org/web/20070103200438/http://delta-intkey.com/ {{- Goodeniaceae Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Asterales of Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Monotypic Asterales genera Taxa named by James Edward Smith