Forstera
| Forstera | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Forstera bidwillii illustration from Johannes Mildbraed's 1908 monograph on the Stylidiaceae. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Stylidiaceae |
| Genus: |
Forstera L. ex G.Forst. |
| Type species | |
|
Forstera sedifolia G.Forst. |
|
| Species | |
|
Forstera bellidifolia |
|
Forstera bellidifolia
Forstera bidwillii
Forstera mackayii
Forstera sedifolia
Forstera tenella
Forstera is a genus of small perennial plants in the Stylidiaceae family named in honour of the German naturalists Johann Reinhold Forster and his son, Georg Forster, who had previously described Forstera's sister genus, Phyllachne just five years earlier. It comprises five species that are endemic to New Zealand with the exception of F. bellidifolia, which is endemic to Tasmania. The species in this genus resemble those in a subgenus of the related genus Stylidium called Forsteropsis, but they are more closely related to the genus Phyllachne. Proposals to merge the two genera based on information from cladistic analysis have emerged because of these genera's morphological similarities and evidence that they are paraphyletic.
The species in Forstera are generally erect or decumbent perennials with small imbricate leaves and pedicellate, actinomorphic flowers.
Forstera and its closely allied sister genus Phyllachne have often been regarded as the most plesiomorphic genera in their family. Characteristics that this genus shares with Phyllachne include apically fused thecae that form a single-celled curved anther and the epigynous nectaries. Forstera can be distinguished from Phyllachne by its long peduncle (absent in Phyllachne) and the cushion plant habit of Phyllachne.
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Wikipedia