In Family Acanthaceae it was in the Eranthemum genus.
Pastel Flower is extremely common in eastern Queensland and N.S.W.
The small perennial herbs are rarely more than 30 cm high.
They have rhizomes – thickened underground stems.
New plants can grow from nodes on the rhizomes forming clusters of plants.
Above ground stems have some hairs.
The simple ovate to lance-shaped leaves are in 4 ranks (decussate).
They are on a short to long petiole from a few mms up to 3 cm long.
Blades up to 7 cm long have a rounded or blunt tip and smooth to slightly lobed edges.
Cystoliths are visible as small nodules on both sides of the green leaves.
Leaves can be variable.
Terminal inflorescences, up to 5 cm long are a raceme with flowers along a midrib.
Racemes may be branched and all peduncles have small bracts at the base.
Pedicels, under 1 cm long have bracteoles a few mms long on them.
Sometimes the smaller lower flowers do not open.
The short sepal tube, a few mms long has 5 long, very narrow pointed lobes.
There are hairs on the outer surface.
The corolla tube, 1 to 1.5 cm long is a narrow funnel-shape.
The 5 spreading corolla lobes are around 6 to 7 mm long.
The upper 2 ovate lobes are similar.
The pair of lateral lobes are slightly longer and more elliptic.
These make the flowers around 1.5 to nearly 2 cm across.
The basal lobe is a wide ovate shape.
Like the leaves the flowers are variable in colour.
The tube is white as is the back (outer surface) of the lobes.
As well as white the inner lobe surfaces can be pink, mauve, purple or slightly blue.
The lower lobe usually has darker spots near the base.
The 2 erect dark purple stamens lie just outside the corolla tube.
Fruit are said to be a smooth or hairy capsule around 1 cm long.
J.F.
