I seem to recall that we have (or had) someone from one of the
Australian Botanical Gardens or some such thing on this list. I'm trying
to clear up a question on the plant _Ibicella lutea_, which is in the
_Martyniaceae_. (Sometimes this plant is classed as _Martynia_ or
_Proboscidea_). This plant originally came from S. America and is now
a weed in some places---it is considered a "noxious weed" in Australia.
So I'm hoping that some of our Australian colleagues have access to the
plant, either live or in herbaria.
If so, could you answer this question? In an old paper (in the '50's),
van Eseltine states in his key to the _Martyniaceae_ that _Ibicella_
is characterised by a calyx which has five completely separate lobes.
_Martynia_ shares this characteristic. In contrast, _Proboscidea_ has
a calyx with the five lobes connate to produce a palmate-lobed calyx
incised to the base, below the flower. Could anyone verify this?
There's a rather bad drawing of _I.lutea_ in Juniper, Robins, and Joel's
book showing a connate calyx. But this book also mistakenly claims the
plant originates in Mexico/Southern California, where it only occurs as
a naturalized weed.
I'm trying to find seed of this plant, which is a candidate for being
considered a CP.
Barry