Melianthus
Shrubs, glabrous or variously hairy, often strongly malodorous. Leaves imparipinnate; leaflets opposite, asymmetric, deeply toothed; petiole and rachis winged. Inflorescences racemose, axillary or terminal. Flowers 1–4 at each node of raceme; sepals 5, pouched at base, laterally compressed; petals 5, the anterior one abortive, claw hairy; disk large, unilateral; stamens 4, in 2 pairs, 1 pair shorter than the other, filaments free, anthers dorsifixed; ovary 4-celled, 4-lobed, ovules 2–4 per cell, style terete, persistent, stigma lobed. Capsule bladdery, reticulate, deeply 4-lobed, loculicidal; seeds 4–8, black, shiny, exarillate.
6 species, native to South Africa; 2 species naturalised in Australia.
Jeanes, J.A. (1999). Melianthaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 4, Cornaceae to Asteraceae, pp. 138–139. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
