''Synaphea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the macadamia family
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...
, endemic to the southwestern corner of Western Australia. It contains 56 species , which are mostly small shrubs with variably shaped leaves but consistently yellow flowers with an unusual pollination mechanism. The genus was erected by botanist
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 ...
in 1810.
Description
Plants in the genus ''Synaphea'' are small shrubs, usually with deeply lobed (
pinnatipartite) leaves, although some have simple leaves, others
pinnate leaves, and have a
petiole with a sheathing base. The flowers are relatively small, bright yellow, usually unscented, and arranged in a spike in leaf
axils or on the ends of branchlets. The
perianth
The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...
is tube-shaped and
zygomorphic
Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts.
Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spir ...
, the tube opening in the upper third to half. As in many other members of the Proteaceae, the male
anthers and female
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
* '' ...
are initially in contact and the end of the style is a
pollen presenter. In synapheas (and in ''
Conospermum''), the anthers and stigma are held together under tension and only separate when touched by a pollinator, ejecting the
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...
. The fruit is a hard-shelled nut, but in most species seed set is low.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Synaphea'' was first formally described in 1810 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 ...
in ''
Transactions of the Linnean Society of London''.
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
word ''synaphe'' meaning "a connection" or "a union", referring to a connection between a sterile anther and the stigma.
Species
The following is a list of formally named ''Synaphea'' species and subspecies accepted by the Australian Plant Census
The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...
as at April 2020:
Distribution
The genus is endemic to the southwestern corner of Western Australia, from near Kalbarri to about Nuytsland Nature Reserve.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7662022
Proteaceae genera
Eudicots of Western Australia
Proteales of Australia
Endemic flora of Western Australia