Including Goodenovi(ac)eae R. Br., Scaevol(ac)eae Lindl.
Excluding Brunoniaceae
Habit and leaf form. Herbs, or shrubs, or trees (a few). `Normal' plants, or switch-plants (rarely spinescent). Annual, or perennial; with a basal aggregation of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves alternate (nearly always), or opposite to whorled (rarely); nearly always spiral; petiolate to sessile; non-sheathing; simple; epulvinate. Lamina pinnately veined. Leaves exstipulate. Lamina margins entire, or serrate, or dentate. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem.
General anatomy. Plants without laticifers.
Leaf anatomy. Stomata present; anomocytic. Hairs present. Complex hairs present, or absent; when present, often stellate.
Lamina dorsiventral, or isobilateral, or centric. The mesophyll commonly with sclerencymatous idioblasts. Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer cells (Goodenia, Leschenaultia).
Stem anatomy. Cork cambium present; initially deep-seated, or superficial. Nodes unilacunar, or tri-lacunar, or penta-lacunar. Medullary bundles present, or absent. Secondary thickening absent, or developing from a conventional cambial ring. Xylem with tracheids; with vessels. Vessel end-walls simple. Wood parenchyma apotracheal and paratracheal.
Reproductive type, pollination. Hermaphrodite. Entomophilous. Pollination mechanism conspicuously specialized (involving a cupular stylar modification for pollen presentation).
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in `inflorescences'; in cymes, in spikes, in heads, and in racemes. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose, or racemose. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary. Flowers small to medium-sized; very irregular (usually), or regular (Brunonia). The floral asymmetry involving the perianth and involving the androecium. Flowers 5 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk present, or absent.
Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; (8-)10; 2 whorled; isomerous, or anisomerous. Calyx (3-)5 (usually small); 1 whorled; gamosepalous. Corolla 5; 1 whorled; gamopetalous; lobes valvate; unequal but not bilabiate (then adaxially split to the base), or bilabiate, or regular (Brunonia); white, or yellow, or blue, or orange, or pink (or brownish).
Androecium 5. Androecial members free of the perianth, or adnate (to the corolla tube); all equal; free of one another (but the anthers connivent), or coherent (the anthers connate); 1 - whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 5; isomerous with the perianth; oppositisepalous. Anthers cohering, or connivent (encircling the style, which presents to insects by growing up through them, carrying pollen in a `cup'); dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. Anther epidermis persistent. Microsporogenesis simultaneous. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or isobilateral. Anther wall initially with one middle layer. Tapetum glandular. Pollen shed in aggregates (sometimes), or shed as single grains; that of Leschenaultia, in tetrads. Pollen grains aperturate; 3 - aperturate (usually), or 4-8 - aperturate (Leschenaultia); porate (Leschenaultia), or colporate; 2-celled.
Gynoecium 2; syncarpous; synovarious to synstylovarious; superior to inferior. Ovary (1-)2 locular (effectively unilocular, with the septum incomplete above in Brunonia, Verreauxia), or 4 locular (rarely). Styles 1 (with a `pollen cup' close beneath the stigma); apical. Stigmas 1-3; dry type; papillate; Group II type. Placentation when more or less unilocular, basal (or on the basal septum); axile. Ovules in the single cavity 1; 1-50 per locule (to `many'); ascending; non-arillate; anatropous; unitegmic; tenuinucellate. Endothelium differentiated. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization. Antipodal cells formed; 3; not proliferating; fairly persistent. Endosperm formation cellular. Embryogeny solanad.
Fruit fleshy, or non-fleshy; dehiscent, or indehiscent; a capsule, or a drupe, or a nut. Seeds copiously endospermic. Endosperm oily. Seeds usually flat, winged, or wingless. Cotyledons 2. Embryo straight.
Seedling. Germination phanerocotylar.
Physiology, biochemistry. Cyanogenic, or not cyanogenic. Alkaloids present (commonly), or absent. Iridoids recorded; seco-compounds. Proanthocyanidins absent. Flavonols absent. Ellagic acid absent (2 genera). Ursolic acid present. Aluminium accumulation not found. Inulin recorded (very widespread).
Geography, cytology. Temperate to tropical. Mainly Australia and Malaysia, but a few species in coastal South America and Africa, West Indies, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. X = 7-9.
Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Tenuinucelli. Dahlgren's Superorder Gentianiflorae; Goodeniales. Cronquist's Subclass Asteridae; Campanulales. Takhtajan's Subclass Asteridae; Asteranae; Campanulales. Species 300. Genera 11; Anthotium, Coopernookia, Dampiera, Diaspasis, Goodenia, Leschenaultia, Pentaptilon, Scaevola, Selliera, Velleia, Verreauxia.
Illustrations. goode508.gif goode694.gif
