Stylidium

views updated

Stylidium (trigger plants; family Stylidiaceae, subfamily Stylidioideae, *tribe Stylideae) A genus of herbs and evergreen shrubs in which the flowers are held in racemes and are irregular, with the 5 sepals united into a 2-lipped, persistent calyx. Several species have an irritable gynostemium which, when released by touch, springs from side to side, assisting in the distribution of the pollen. Several shrub species of Western Australia are cultivated. There are about 150 species, found in Australasia and south-eastern Asia.