Goodenia purpurascens

Goodenia purpurascens is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is native to northern Australia and New Guinea. It is usually a perennial herb with linear to lance-shaped leaves at the base of the plant, and thyrses or panicles of purple flowers.

Description

Goodenia purpurascens is usually a perennial herb that typically grows to a height of and has adventitious roots. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, ascending and mostly at the base of the plant, long and wide. The flowers are arranged in spreading thyrses or panicles racemes up to long, with linear bracts up to long and smaller bracteoles. Each flower is on a pedicel long with lance-shaped sepals long. The petals are purple, long, the lower lobes of the corolla long with wings wide. Flowering mainly occurs from January to May and the fruit is an oval to spherical capsule long.

Taxonomy and naming

Goodenia purpurascens was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. The specific epithet means "purplish".

Distribution and habitat

This goodenia grows in creek beds and heavy clay in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, northern parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland and in New Guinea.