Agatea
Agatea is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae, with seven accepted species, found in New Guinea and New Caledonia. Description. Lianas or reclining shrubs with lanceolate to ovate leaves. The flowers are in terminal pseudo-racemes or racemoids, with white corollas that are strongly zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical) with the very large bottom petal differentiated into a claw and blade and saccate (pouch like) at the base. On the five stamens, the filaments are weakly connate with the two lowest anthers weakly calcarate (spurred) and possessing a large dorsal connective appendage that is entire and oblong -ovate. In the gynoecium, the style is filiform (threadlike) to clavate (club like). The fruit is a thin to thick-walled capsule with 3 or 6 valves. There are two seeds per carpel, that are strongly flattened and encircled with a broad thin wing. The chromosome number is 2n=16. Taxonomy. The genus "Agatea" was first described by Gray in 1852, following the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842, and therefore bears his name, , as the botanical authority. Gray's description was of the single species, "Agatea violaris", which is thus the type species. His report was published in full in  1854. Early taxonomic schemes such as Bentham and Hooker (1862) placed "Agatea" within subfamily Violoideae, tribe Violeae, subtribe Violinae. For a while, the name Agatea was disputed, and Agation used instead, but this was resolved in favor of the former name. The genus has also been subject to over-description resulting from polymorphism. "Agatea" is one of four lianescent genera in Violaceae, together with "Calyptrion" , "Anchietea" and the more recently discovered (2003) "Hybanthopsis" . In earlier classifications primarily based on floral morphology these were distributed among separate subtribes, but molecular phylogenetic studies has now grouped them together into a single lianescent  clade, one of four within the family. Earlier schemes had placed "Agatea" within subfamily Violoideae, tribe Violeae, subtribe Hybanthinae, with "Hybanthopsis" but "Calyptrion" and "Anchietea" in subtribe Violinae. Etymology. The genus is named for the botanical draughtsman on the expedition, Alfred T. Agate. Species. Although estimates of the number of species has varied between one and ten, there are seven generally accepted species. New species, e.g. "A. lecointei" and A. veillonii, continue to be discovered, these two in New Caledonia in 2001. Some authors also include: Distribution and habitat. "Agatea" are native to New Guinea and some nearby South Pacific  islands including New Caledonia, and are found in monsoon forests.