| Emblingia | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Emblingiaceae (Pax)Airy Shaw |
| Genus: | Emblingia F.Muell. |
| Species: | E. calceoliflora |
| Binomial name | |
| Emblingia calceoliflora | |
Emblingia is a monospecific plant genus containing the speciesEmblingia calceoliflora, a herbaceous prostrate subshrub endemic toWestern Australia. It has no close relatives, and is now generally placed alone in familyEmblingiaceae.
It is aperennial,herbaceous prostratesubshrub, with simplepetiolate leaves with "cartilaginous" (hard and tough, resembling cartilage) margins. The irregular, solitary flowers are white, cream, yellow, green or, pink, and occur from August to November. It has a non-fleshy fruit.[1][2][3][4]
The genus and species were first published in 1861 byFerdinand von Mueller inFragmenta Phytographiae Australiae, based on specimens collected in theMurchison region byPemberton Walcott andAugustus Frederick Oldfield.[5][6]
Placement of the genus within a family has previously been considered a difficult problem; it has at various times been placed inCapparaceae,Sapindaceae,Goodeniaceae and, in theCronquist system,Polygalaceae.[7] In 1965,Herbert Kenneth Airy Shaw erected Emblingiaceae for the genus, and that family is now used for the genus in theAPG II,Dahlgren,Reveal,Stevens,Takhtajan andThorne systems.[8] Molecular analyses have confirmed the genus's placement in theBrassicales.[7][9]
It isendemic toWestern Australia, occurring in grey, yellow or red sand, on undulating sandplains of the west coast. It is most common in theGeraldton Sandplains andCarnarvonbiogeographic regions, but also occurs on the north western edge of theAvon Wheatbelt.[4]
It is not considered to be threatened.[4]
