Gunniopsis | |
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Gunniopsis intermedia flower | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Aizoaceae |
Subfamily: | Aizooideae |
Genus: | Gunniopsis Pax |
Gunniopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. These plants are found in areas of inland Australia. [1]
Gunniopis comprises 14 species [2] that were once members of the genera Aizoon , Gunnia and Neogunnia. [3]
The name of the genus honours the botanist and politician Ronald Campbell Gunn. The genus was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand Pax in 1889 in Engler and Prantl's work Die Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien . [1] The name is derived from the Greek word opsis meaning resembling which alludes to the resemblance of the genus to the genus Gunnia . [4]
Members of this genus are succulents with the habit of a small shrub or herb. [5]
The plants are widespread throughout the eremaean zones of Western Australia and South Australia with some species extending into the areas in the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. Found in arid areas the plants are often found in shrubland area with saline soils in and around salt lake systems. The shrub-like Gunniopsis quadrifida has the largest distribution of all the species. [3]
The 14 recognised species belonging to the Gunniopsis genera [2] are listed below:
Casuarina is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has since been split into four genera.
Hakea is a genus of about 150 species of plants in the Family Proteaceae, endemic to Australia. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves that are sometimes flat, otherwise circular in cross section in which case they are sometimes divided. The flowers are usually arranged in groups in leaf axils and resemble those of other genera, especially Grevillea. Hakeas have woody fruit which distinguishes them from grevilleas which have non-woody fruit which release the seeds as they mature. Hakeas are found in every state of Australia with the highest species diversity being found in the south west of Western Australia.
Baeckea is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, all but one endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus Baeckea are shrubs or small trees with leaves arranged in opposite pairs, white to deep pink flowers with five sepals and five petals, and five to fifteen stamens that are shorter than the petals.
Calocephalus is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is endemic to Australia, where it is represented in every state.
Anthocercis, commonly known as tailflower, is a genus of shrubs which are endemic to southern temperate Australia with the center of distribution in the South West Botanical Province of Western Australia. All species of Anthocercis contain tropane alkaloids, and have occasionally caused poisoning in children or suspected of poisoning stock. Anthocercis is known as the only Solanaceous plant known to produce resin compounds on glandular trichomes.
Maireana is a genus of around 57 species of perennial shrubs and herbs in the family Amaranthaceae which are endemic to Australia. Species in this genus were formerly classified within the genus Kochia. The genus was described in 1840 by the botanist, Moquin-Tandon and named to honour Joseph François Maire (1780-1867), an amateur botanist who befriended him during the author's first visit to Paris in 1834.
Comesperma is a genus of shrubs, herbs and lianas in the family Polygalaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. It was defined by the French botanist Jacques Labillardière in his 1806 work Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words come ("hair") and sperma ("seed"), and relates to the seeds bearing tufts of hair. The genus is distributed over southern Australia, particularly in the southwest of Western Australia, where 19 species are found. 24 species have been described.
Gunniopsis intermedia, commonly known as yellow salt star, is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Australia.
Gunniopsis quadrifida, the Sturts pigface, is a plant endemic to Australia that is within the family Aizoaceae. This family consists of a diverse array of species that inhabit arid and/or saline coastal and inland areas, with the plants displaying leaf morphology that is conducive to such harsh environments. Typical features of members of this genus that lie within this family of succulents includes the presence of fleshy-leaves that acts as a water reservoir for the plant with the habit of a smalls shrub.
Gunniopsis calcarea, commonly known as the Nullarbor Gunniopsis or the yellow flowered pigface, is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Australia.
Gunniopsis zygophylloides, commonly known as the twin-leaf pigface, is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Australia.
Gunniopsis divisa is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Western Australia.
Gunniopsis calva, commonly known as the smooth pigface, is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Australia.
Gunniopsis rubra is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Western Australia.
Gunniopsis septifraga, commonly known as green pigface, is a species of flowering plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a prostrate to tuft-forming annual herb, with oblong to lance-shaped leaves and small greenish flowers, that grows around salt lakes.
Gunniopsis rodwayi is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Western Australia.
Gunniopsis tenuifolia, commonly known as the narrow-leaf pigface, is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Australia.
Gunniopsis papillata, commonly known as the twin-leaved pigface, is a species of succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae and is endemic to inland areas of Australia. It is an annual herb with pimply, spatula-shaped to egg-shaped leaves and flowers with white or yellow petals.
Gunniopsis kochii, commonly known as the Koch's pigface, is a succulent plant in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Australia.