Goodenia lunata
Goodenia lunata, commonly known as stiff goodenia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to inland Australia. It is an ascending or low-lying herb with linear to egg-shaped leaves, small racemes of yellow flowers, and more or less spherical fruit.
Description
Goodenia lunata is an ascending or low-lying herb that typically grows to a height of. The leaves at the base of the plant are linear to egg-shaped, long and wide with teeth or lobes on the edges. The flowers are arranged in leafy or small racemes, each flower on a pedicel long. The sepals are lance-shaped, long and the corolla is yellow, long with downy hairs on the back and centre. The lower lobes of the corolla are long with wings about wide. Flowering mainly occurs from March to September, and the fruit is more or less spherical capsule in diameter.
Taxonomy and naming
Goodenia lunata was first formally described in 1927 by John McConnell Black in the Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia. In 1990, Roger Charles Carolin selected the specimens collected by John Burton Cleland at Cordillo Downs as the lectotype, noting the poor condition of the type specimens. The specific epithet means "crescent-shaped", referring to part of the fruit.
Distribution and habitat
Stiff goodenia grows in a variety of communities in inland Australia, often on grassy plains but also near watercourses and roadsides. It is mostly found in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland, but also in scattered populations in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.
Conservation status
The goodenia is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992 and the, but as "Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife and as "vulnerable" under the Victorian Government Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.