Goldbachia

Herbs annual. Trichomes absent (no hairs). Has branched stems. Basal leaves are petiolate (without stalk), rosulate or not, entire, dentate. Cauline leaves are sessile, auriculate or amplexicaul (clasping the stem) at base, rarely not auriculate, entire, repand (a slightly undulating margin), or dentate. Racemes ebracteate (having no bracts) and elongated when in fruit. Fruiting pedicels are filiform (thread-like), recurved or reflexed and articulate at base or both ends. Sepals are ovate or oblong shaped, suberect, base of lateral pair not saccate (pouch shaped) or sub-saccate. The petals are white, pink, or purplish and longer than sepals. The blade is spatulate (spoon shaped) with an obtuse apex. The claw is different to the sepals. It has 6 Stamens, which are slightly tetradynamous (four of which are longer than the others). The median filament pairs are flattened at base, with the lateral pair filiform. The anthers ovate and obtuse at the apex. It has 4 nectar glands, which are minute; the median glands are free or confluent with laterals. The lateral glands are semi-annular and intrastaminal (inside the stamens). The ovules are 1-3 per ovary, subapical. The fruit (seed capsule) is indehiscent nutlet-like silicle or silicula, often breaking into 1-seeded units, oblong, ovoid, or ellipsoid, 1-loculed or transversely 2- or 3-loculed, terete (circular in cross-section) or 4-angled, sessile, woody, often prominently veined, glabrous or papillate (paper-like), smooth or torulose (a cylindrical or ellipsoid body; swollen and constricted at intervals). It is sometimes verrucose-reticulate; replum (a framework-like placenta) rounded; septum absent; style absent, obsolete, or distinct, thickened and sub-conical; stigma capitate, entire. The seeds are uniseriate (arranged in a single row), wingless, oblong and plump. The seed coat is smooth, not mucilaginous (having a viscous or gelatinous consistency) when damp. The cotyledons (primary leaf) is incumbent.[3]

The genus name of Goldbachia is in honour of Carl Ludwig Goldbach (1793–1824), German-born Russian professor of botany in Moscow,[4] and it was first described and published by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in Carl Linnaeus's book Syst. Nat. Vol.2 on page 576 in 1821.[2]

Includes 7 accepted Species, according to Kew;[2]

• Goldbachia ikonnikovii Vassilcz.
• Goldbachia laevigata DC.
• Goldbachia pendula Botsch.
• Goldbachia sabulosa (Kar. & Kir.) D.A.German & Al-Shehbaz
• Goldbachia tetragona Ledeb.
• Goldbachia torulosa DC.
• Goldbachia verrucosa Kom.

The genus was verified by United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service on 31 July 2018.[1]

Its native range is eastern Europe, Transcaucasia, to Mongolia and Pakistan.[2]

It is found in the countries of Afghanistan, China (including the regions of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Qinghai), Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Lebanon-Syria, Mongolia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuva (part of Russia), Uzbekistan, and western Siberia.[2]

Goldbachia laevigata, Goldbachia pendula and Goldbachia ikonnikovii are found in China.[3]