The equal branching from a single point, with a pair of leaflike bracts at that point, suggests Velleia rather than Goodenia. A pity there was no photo of the whole plant. The other photos are excellent.
Betty, I agree a photo that shows entire plant including the basal leaves would have been great. Veilleia is not on our Mts Ainslie Majura Flora list; this would be the first record. I checked Goodenia pinnatifida on NSW PlantNet: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Goodenia~pinnatifida The drawing shows flower stalks equal branching from a single point similar to the 2nd photo of this record.
The Plantnet key to Goodeniaceae differentiates Velleia from Goodenia on the fact that the flowers are arranged in dichasia, with equal branching (which means exactly two Of the same length) each branching subtended by two leaflike bracts. None of the branching in the Goodenia drawing shows those exact characters. When it is a first, I think you could take a pressed specimen to the herbarium for confirmation of the ID.
Silke, would it be possible to take a sample and / or a photograph of the basal leaves? I'm inundated with visitors, council work etc and most likely will not find the time to visit Mt Ainslie. w
Silke would you have the time to collect a sample and / or take a photograph of basal leaves? I'm inundated with visitors and council work and won't have the time to visit Mt Ainslie in the next weeks. W
Yes Waltraud, I can go and take a photo. I feel ambivalent about taking a sample though. I don't have a permit. Perhaps we can discuss this after we've got a photo.
I understand! perhaps we need to clarify with Michael M. reg collecting samples for the herbarium. I think a photo of the basal rosette will give a clearer picture; if it is Goodenia then in my view there is no need to collect a sample. I'd suggest to collect a sample if in doubt or if it is clearly Velleia, since to my knowledge Velleia hasn't been recorded on the Mts Majura/Ainslie complex.
Hi Waltraud, I went there this morning and tried to find the plant, but had no luck. I spent a good 15 min searching the area but couldn't find the plant. Is it possible that the location icon on the map isn't accurate? Can we get the original poster to confirm the spot?
Hi all, I am pretty sure the location is correct. The plant would not be very obvious (at least to me) if the flowers are no longer there... I will go and have a look again myself (and make more pictures) but can not promise it will be today.
No point in taking a specimen to the herbarium if it is not flowering. They won’t accept it. Their policy is only to accept fertile specimens (with flowers and/or friuit in the botanical sense).
All, I went back to the spot where the photos were taken, and unfortunately I have to confirm Silke's observation that the plant is no longer there. A big letdown after all the discussion. I can only guess somebody picked the "nice flower", it was right next to a reasonably well visited trail.