''Goodenia'' is a genus of about two hundred species of flowering plants in the family

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 ...

. Plants in this genus are

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

or shrubs, mostly

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. The leaves are variably-shaped, the flowers arranged in small groups, with three or five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s, the corolla bilaterally symmetrical and either fan-shaped with two "lips" or tube-shaped. The petals are usually yellow to white, the

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 free from each other and the fruit a capsule.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Goodenia'' was first formally described in 1793 by James Edward Smith in his book ''

A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland ''A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'', also known by its standard abbreviation ''Spec. Bot. New Holland'', was the first published book on the flora of Australia. Written by James Edward Smith and illustrated by James Sowerby, it was publ ...

'' and the first species he described was ''G. ramosissima'', now known as '' Scaevola ramosissima''. The name ''Goodenia'' honours

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The Episcop ...

Samuel Goodenough, a member 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 ...

at the time.

Species list

See List of ''Goodenia'' species

Distribution

Most species of ''Goodenia'' are endemic to Australia but '' G. konigsbergeri'' is

to Southeast Asia. '' G. armstrongiana'', '' G. purpurascens'' and '' G. pumilio'' extend to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and '' G. pilosa'' extends to the Philippines. Species of ''Goodenia'' are found in all states, including in arid and semi-arid areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1255173 Asterales genera Taxa named by James Edward Smith