Phaleria 
India, Java, New Guinea to Australia. Coastal 
from the Tiwi Islands to Gove. Rare in the DR where 
THYMELAEACEAE 137 
known from moist rainforest on the Tiwi Islands and 
Gunn Point. 
THECANTHES Wikstrom 
A genus of 5 species from the Philippines, New Guinea to Australia. All species found in tropical Australia; 
4 occur in the NT and 1 in the DR. Until recently these species were in the genus Pimelea (Rye & Heads, 
1990). 
T. punicea (R.Br.) Wikstrom 
Pimelea punicea R.Br. 
Annual herb to 60 cm, glabrous, subglaucous. 
Leaves decussate or sub-opposite; shortly petiolate; 
blades lanceolate to elliptic, 7-35 mm long, 2-12 mm 
wide, L/W 2.9-7.5. Inflorescences a terminal head; 
peduncle expanded at apex into a funnel-shaped 
receptacle passing into 4 broad-based involucral 
bracts; bracts 2-10 mm long. Flowers bright red. 
Hypanthium 4-9 mm long. Sepals 4, imbricate, 
spreading, 1.5-5 mm long. Stamens 2, adnate 
to hypanthium, free part included or exsert. 
Ovary 1-locular; style subterminal and eccentric. 
Fruit dry, enclosed in persistent base of hypanthium. 
Seed 1, black, obclavate, c. 3.5 mm long, 
finely alveolate. Flowering and fruiting: Feb - July. 
Fig. 42 
Kimberley to the western Gulf of Carpentaria; 
common in the DR in open forest habitats on well 
drained soils. 
ONAGRACEAE 
A family of mainly temperate and subtropical regions with about 17 genera and 675 species 
worldwide. In the NT only 2 genera with only Ludwigia recorded in the DR. [Thompson, 1990] 
LUDWIGIA L. 
Annual or short lived perennial herbs or herbaceous shrubs. Stipules present. Leaves simple, alternate, 
entire. Flowers solitary, axillary (in DR taxa), bisexual, actinomorphic, bracteolate. Sepals free, valvate, 4-5, 
persistent. Petals as many as sepals, caducous, yellow or white, imbricate. Stamens as many as or twice as 
many as sepals. Anthers versatile. Disc present, hairy. Ovary inferior, hypanthium not extending beyond 
ovary, locules equal in number to sepals, placentation axile, ovules in 1 or more series in each locule; style 
stout; stigma turbinate to + globose, shallowly 4-5-lobed. Fruit persistent, indehiscent but seeds released by 
breakdown of fruit wall. Seeds numerous, either free or embedded in corky tissue of fruit. 
A genus of c. 80 species with 4 known for the NT and all recorded in the DR. 
1. Plant with prostrate stems, rooting at nodes and with spongy floats; 
Seeds embedded in fruit tissue .............ecsrececssecsserssccessesssesssncevsssacsecsosscsccosssonscssssosssacoones L. adscendens 
1. Plant erect; seeds free at least in upper half Of fruit .........c.sccessesessessssesessessesseseseensaeeneneeeens 2 
2. Seeds of lower half of fruit embedded in tissue ..........:ceseesesscseesessesseseeseesees : rst L. hyssopifolia 
2. Seeds‘allifreex arctic Mierttisirsetsntissteristiscrit eh itrescr eee 3 
3. Fruit <10 mm long; stamens same number as sepals L. perennis 
3: Fruit >20 mm long; stamens twice number of sepals L. octovalvis 
