''Hemiphora'' 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 five species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the mint

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 ...

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

and is

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 ...

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 ...

. Plants in this genus are woolly shrubs with warty, hairy leaves and with five

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s joined to form a tube-shaped flower with four

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. These species are similar to those in the genus '' Chloanthes'' in that the base of the leaves extends down the stem. They differ from ''Chloanthes'', in that the leaves only extend a short distance down the stem.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Hemiphora'' are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s which have their stems, leaves and parts of their flowers densely covered with woolly hairs. The leaves are simple and are arranged in opposite pairs or in whorls of three, covered with woolly hairs and small blisters. The leaves appear narrow because their edges are turned under, so that the lower surface of the leaf is not visible. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf

axil A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

s and are surrounded by leaf-like

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s and two bracteoles. Flowers have 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 which are joined at their base to form a very short tube with five lobes. The five

s are joined to form a curved tube with five lobes, the lower lobe roughly triangular in shape, the two side lobes and the upper two all similar in size and shape. There are four

s sometimes with the lower pair shorter than the upper ones or sterile.

Taxonomy and naming

In 1876,

Ferdinand von Mueller 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, Australia ...

described ''Chloanthes elderi '' and placed it in the

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

Chloanthes sect. Hemiphora. In 1882, Mueller raised ''Hemiphora'' to genus so that ''

Hemiphora elderi ''Hemiphora elderi'', commonly known as red velvet, is a flowering plant in the mint Family (biology), family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with its leaves densely cover ...

'' became the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the new genus. In 2011, Barry Conn, Murray Henwood and Nicola Streiber transferred four species, previously in the genus '' Pityrodia'' into ''Hemiphora''.

Distribution

All species of ''Hemiphora'' are endemic to Western Australia. The species are: *'' Hemiphora bartlingii'' (Lehm.) B.J.Conn & Henwood *''

'' (F.Muell.) F.Muell *''

Hemiphora exserta ''Hemiphora exserta'' is a flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a sprawling shrub with its branches densely covered with white, woolly hairs. Its leaves are rough and wrinkled ...

'' (Benth.) B.J.Conn & Henwood *'' Hemiphora lanata'' (Munir) B.J.Conn & Henwood *'' Hemiphora uncinata'' (Turcz.) B.J.Conn & Henwood

References

External links

''Hemiphora'' occurrence data
from

Australasian Virtual Herbarium The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgama ...

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q15733497 Lamiaceae Endemic flora of Australia Lamiaceae genera Lamiales of Australia