''Halgania'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small shrubs in the family

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the Borago, borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 154 genus, genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single famil ...

. The genus comprises about 20 species that are endemic to

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 ...

. ''Halgania'' is named for

Emmanuel Halgan Vice-Admiral Emmanuel Halgan (31 December 1771 – 20 April 1852) was a French Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the List of colonial and departmental heads of Martinique, governor of Martinique from 1834 to 1836. ...

, a vice-admiral in the French Navy.

Features

''Halgania'' species are spreading to erect shrubs or subshrubs up to 1.2 m high. Leaves are simple, alternating along the stem and membranaceous or leathery. The leaf margin is entire or toothed to serrate and often revolute. Herbaceous stems and leaves can be glabrous but also covered with glandular hairs, simple or bifurcating (resembling cleats, "dolabriform") hairs. In some species, the surface is also covered with a viscose layer of exudates. The flowers have a calyx of five more or less connected sepals. The 5-parted corolla is blue to violet, rarely white and flat or widely cup-shaped, similar to ''

Solanum ''Solanum'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solana ...

''-flowers. The five stamens have short filaments and long yellow to yellow-violet anthers. They are connected via intertwining hairs to an anther cone. The pollen sacs open into a central channel, through which the style later emerges. Dusty pollen is released through a pore made by beak-like appendage of the anthers through

buzz pollination Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees, such as solitary bees and bumblebees, to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers. The anthers of buzz-pollinated plant species are typically tubular, with an ...

. Fruits are two- or four chambered dry drupes. File:Halgania_andromedifolia_-_Flickr_-_Kevin_Thiele.jpg, ''Halgania andromedifolia'' File:Halgania_erecta_flowers.jpg, ''Halgania erecta'' File:Halgania solanacea - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg, ''Halgania solanacea''

Systematics

''Halgania'' is a genus that only occurs in Australia, its sister group is still unknown. There are three clades in the genus. The ''H. andromedifolia''-clade (''H. andromedifolia'' and ''H. rigida'') occurs exclusively in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and the sepals are often conspicuously inqually sized. The anther appendage is short. Species of the ''H. anagalloides''-clade are the only ones to have dolabriform hairs, and they occur in all states of Australia. Their anther appendage is of variable size. The ''H. littoralis''-clade contains the type species of the genus. Its members have neither dolabriform hairs, nor inqually sized sepals, and always long anther appendages. All species of the ''H. littoralis''-clade occur in Western Australia or

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. Also four-chambered drupes only occur in this group.

Distribution

''Halgania'' species occur in all states of Australia. They grow in well-drained soils and sand in dry climates, except to the hyper-arid regions of the

Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of 'no' and 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its no ...

. The species are also absent from temperate and tropical areas.

Species

16 species are accepted. *'' Halgania anagalloides''

Endl. Stephan Friedrich Ladislaus Endlicher, also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804 – 28 March 1849), was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. Biography Endlicher s ...

*'' Halgania andromedifolia''

Behr Behr is a given name and surname that derives from the German ''Bär'' (''bear''). Older forms of the name, ''Bela'' and ''Belo'' (related to the old High German ''Belo''), occur in the Memorbuch. The diminutive forms ''Baeril'' ''(Berel)'' and '' ...

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria (state), Vic ...

– Lavender halgania, smooth halgania *''

Halgania argyrophylla ''Halgania'' is a genus of small shrubs in the family Boraginaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species that are endemic to Australia. ''Halgania'' is named for Emmanuel Halgan, a vice-admiral in the French Navy. Features ''Halgania'' species ...

Diels Diels is the last name of several people: * Rudolf Diels (1900–1957), German politician * Otto Diels (1876–1954), German scientist noted for his work on the Diels–Alder reaction * Ludwig Diels (1874–1945), German botanist whose standard aut ...

*''

Halgania bebrana ''Halgania'' is a genus of small shrubs in the family Boraginaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species that are endemic to Australia. ''Halgania'' is named for Emmanuel Halgan, a vice-admiral in the French Navy. Features ''Halgania'' species ...

'' Oldfield &

*'' Halgania brachyrhyncha'' Peter G.Wilson *'' Halgania corymbosa''

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

*''

Halgania cyanea ''Halgania cyanea'', commonly known as rough halgania, is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. It is a small perennial shrub with dull green leaves, bright blue flowers and is endemism, endemic to Australia. Description ''H ...

– Rough halgania *''

Halgania erecta ''Halgania erecta'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. It is a small, understory perennial shrub with blue flowers and grows in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory The Northern Territory ...

Ewart Ewart is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ewart Adamson (1882–1945), Scottish screenwriter * Ewart Astill (1888–1948), English Test cricketer * Ewart Brown (born 1946), Premier of Bermuda * Ew ...

& B.Rees *''

Halgania glabra ''Halgania'' is a genus of small shrubs in the family Boraginaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species that are endemic to Australia. ''Halgania'' is named for Emmanuel Halgan, a vice-admiral in the French Navy. Features ''Halgania'' species ...

'' J.M.Black *''

Halgania gustafsenii ''Halgania'' is a genus of small shrubs in the family Boraginaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species that are endemic to Australia. ''Halgania'' is named for Emmanuel Halgan, a vice-admiral in the French Navy. Features ''Halgania'' species ...

*''

Halgania integerrima ''Halgania'' is a genus of small shrubs in the family Boraginaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species that are endemic to Australia. ''Halgania'' is named for Emmanuel Halgan, a vice-admiral in the French Navy. Features ''Halgania'' species ...

*''

Halgania lavandulacea ''Halgania'' is a genus of small shrubs in the family Boraginaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species that are endemic to Australia. ''Halgania'' is named for Emmanuel Halgan, a vice-admiral in the French Navy. Features ''Halgania'' species ...

– Blue bush *'' Halgania littoralis'' Gaudich. *'' Halgania preissiana''

Lehm. Johann Georg Christian Lehmann (25 February 1792 – 12 February 1860) was a German botanist. Born at Haselau, near Uetersen, Holstein, Lehmann studied medicine in Copenhagen and Göttingen, obtained a doctorate in medicine in 1813 and a doc ...

*'' Halgania sericiflora''

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

*'' Halgania solanacea''

References

New South Wales Flora online: ''Halgania''FloraBase: the Western Australian Flora: ''Halgania''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5409022 Ehretioideae Boraginaceae genera Endemic flora of Australia Taxa named by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré