''Hibbertia'', commonly known as guinea flowers, is a genus of flowering plants in the family

Dilleniaceae Dilleniaceae is a family of flowering plants with 11 genera and about 430 known species. It is known to gardeners for the genus '' Hibbertia'', which contains many commercially valuable garden species. Description and distribution The family is ...

. They are usually shrubs with simple leaves and usually yellow flowers with 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 and 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. There are about 400 species, most of which occur in Australia but a few species occur in New Guinea, New Caledonia, Fiji and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Description

Plants in the genus ''Hibbertia'' are usually shrubs, rarely climbers, and often form mats. Their leaves are usually arranged alternately along the stems, usually sessile, clustered on short side-branches, and have smooth, rarely toothed or lobed edges. The flowers are usually arranged singly in leaf axils or on the ends of stems and have five sepals, two "outer" sepals slightly overlapping the three "inner" ones. There are five yellow, rarely orange, petals and 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 are usually arranged in three to five groups, sometimes on only one side of the

carpels Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ...

. There are between two and five carpels, usually free from each other, each containing up to six

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

s and with a

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

on the top. The fruit is a follicle containing seeds, usually with an

aril An aril (), also called arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode, or false aril, is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the seed to the ova ...

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Hibbertia'' was first formally described in 1800 by

Henry Cranke Andrews Henry Cranke Andrews (c. 1759 – 1835, floruit, fl. 1794 – 1830), was an English botanist, botanical artist and engraver. As he always published as Henry C. Andrews, and due to difficulty finding records, the C. was often referred to as Cha ...

in his book ''The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants'' and the first species he described was ''H. volubilis'', now known as '' H. scandens''. The name ''Hibbertia'' honours

George Hibbert George Hibbert (13 January 1757 – 8 October 1837) was an English merchant, politician and ship-owner. Alongside fellow slaver Robert Milligan (merchant), Robert Milligan, he was also one of the principals of the West India Dock Company which ...

, a patron of botany and slave trader. The common name, guinea flower reflects the resemblance of the flowers to the colour and shape of the

guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

coin.

Species list

See List of ''Hibbertia'' species

References

{{Authority control Eudicot genera Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews