| Goodeniaceae | |
|---|---|
| Goodenia ramosissima | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Goodeniaceae R.Br.[1] |
| Genera | |
12; see text. | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Goodeniaceae is afamily offlowering plants in theorderAsterales. It contains about 404 species[3] in twelve genera. The family is distributed mostly inAustralia, except for the genusScaevola, which ispantropical. Its species are found across most of Australia, being especially common inarid andsemi-arid climates.
Species in Goodeniaceae are generallyherbaceous withspiral leaves. Flowers have a single plane of symmetry (monosymmetric;Brunonia being the sole exception), and are either fan-like (e.g.,Scaevola) orbilabiate (as inDampiera).Corolla lobes often have two thin marginal wings, which also occur in other families ofAsterales such as theMenyanthaceae andArgophyllaceae. The style bears a pollen-cup, also known as an indusium, at the tip, a unique character for the family. The indusium has a function insecondary pollen presentation, a phenomenon also occurring in the related familiesAsteraceae andCampanulaceae. The ovary isinferior and the fruit is adrupe, a nut or a capsule. The seeds from capsular fruits usually have amucilaginous wing.