Beaufortia (plant)

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Beaufortia
Beaufortia orbifolia (leaves, flowers).JPG
B. orbifolia growing near Ravensthorpe
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Subfamily: Myrtoideae
Tribe: Melaleuceae
Genus: Beaufortia
R.Br. [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Beaufortia sect. Eubeaufortia Schauer nom. inval.
  • Beaufortia sect. EubeaufortiaSchauer nom. inval.
  • Beaufortia sect. EubeaufortiaSchauer nom. inval.
  • Beaufortia sect. Schizopleura Lindl.
  • BeaufortiaeLindl. orth. var.
  • Beaufortiae sect. SchizopleuraLindl. orth. var.
  • Schizopleura(Lindl.) Endl.

Beaufortia is a genus of woody shrubs and small trees in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to Southwest Australia. The genus Beaufortia is closely related to Melaleuca , Calothamnus , Regelia and several others, differing mainly in the way the anthers are attached to the stalks of the stamens, and in the way they open to release their pollen. Beaufortia anthers are attached at one end and open by splitting at the other. [3] [4]

Contents

Description

Plants in the genus Beaufortia, sometimes commonly known as bottlebrush are evergreen shrubs with very small, glandular, aromatic leaves usually oppositely arranged. The tallest are up to 3 m (10 ft) in height. Most are andromonoecious, meaning they have both male and bisexual flowers on one plant. The flowers are in spikelike or headlike inflorescences. The flower has five triangular sepals and five white, yellow, red, pink, or purple petals, which are sometimes hairy. The petals usually fall off as the flower opens, or shortly after that. The stamens are red or deep pink, arranged in five bundles and extend well beyond the petals, giving the inflorescence its colour. Unlike other closely related genera such as Melaleuca , the anthers are attached to the filament at their base and release their pollen through two curved slits on the other end. Flowering in most species occurs throughout the year but mostly between late spring and autumn. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule with three valves, each holding a winged seed. [5] [6] [7]

Taxonomy and naming

The first formal description of the genus Beaufortia was published in 1812 by Robert Brown in William Aiton's Hortus Kewensis. [8] It was followed by a description of the first-named species, Beaufortia decussata . [9] The genus was named for the English gardener and botanist Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort. [6] In Curtis's Botanical Magazine it is noted that "her grace possessed a flourishing botanical garden at her seat, at Badminton, in Gloucestershire". [10] Some taxonomists have suggested that Beaufortia along with Calothamnus , Conothamnus , Eremaea , Lamarchea , Petraeomyrtus , Phymatocarpus and Regelia should be included in the genus Melaleuca but the change has not been adopted by most herbaria. [5]

Distribution and habitat

All species of Beaufortia occur in the South West Botanical Province and about half the species also occur in the Eremaean province. Beaufortias are often found in sand plain and in heath, although Beaufortia sparsa usually grows in marshy places and is known by the common name swamp bottlebrush. [11]

Ecology

Most beaufortias are serotinous, only reproducing from seed, released from the fruit after fire. Several species which occur in areas where fire is frequent, have a lignotuber which resprouts after fire. Honeyeaters (Family Meliphagidae) and the honey possum ( Tarsipes rostratus ) are thought to be the main pollinators but many kinds of insect have also been recorded on beaufortia flowers. [5]

Conservation

Some species of Beaufortia are common within their range but several, including Beaufortia bicolor are classified as "Priority Three" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife, [6] meaning that they is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat. [12]

Use in cultivation

All the species of Beaufortia are worth trialling in the garden but few have been grown successfully in eastern Australia. They require full sun and excellent drainage and benefit from being grown over limestone. Grafting onto Kunzea ambigua may also improve the chance of success. [13]

Species list

The following is a list of the 22 species of Beaufortia recognised by the Australian Plant Census and Western Australian Herbarium as at March 2020: [2] [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Melaleuca</i> Genus of plants in the Myrtle family

Melaleuca is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees. They range in size from small shrubs that rarely grow to more than 16 m (52 ft) high, to trees up to 35 m (115 ft). Their flowers generally occur in groups, forming a "head" or "spike" resembling a brush used for cleaning bottles, containing up to 80 individual flowers.

<i>Callistemon</i> Genus of flowering plants

Callistemon is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1814. The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalised in scattered locations. Their status as a separate taxon is in doubt, some authorities accepting that the difference between callistemons and melaleucas is not sufficient for them to be grouped in a separate genus.

<i>Calothamnus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Calothamnus is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The common names one-sided bottlebrush or claw flower are given to some species due to their having the flowers clustered on one side of the stem or because of the claw-like appearance of their flowers. Calothamnus species are generally medium to tall woody shrubs with crowded leaves. In most species the leaves are crowded and linear in shape, and the flowers are usually arranged in dense clusters. The petals are small and fall off the flower soon after it opens but the stamens are long, numerous and usually bright red.

<i>Calothamnus quadrifidus</i> Species of flowering plant

Calothamnus quadrifidus, commonly known as one-sided bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The common name alludes to the arrangement of the flowers in the inflorescence which line up on one side of the stem. It is a shrub with grey-green, pine-like foliage covered with soft hairs and red, four-part flowers in spring. Widely cultivated because of its attractive foliage, colourful, unusual and prolific flowers, it grows in a variety of habitats and soils. In 2010, Alex George published a review of the species based on recent research and described a number of new subspecies.

<i>Regelia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Regelia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The genus is composed of five species of small leaved, evergreen shrubs which have heads of flowers on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering. Another species, previously known as Regelia punicea and which is endemic to Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, has been transferred to Melaleuca punicea.

<i>Eremaea</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Eremaea is a genus of woody shrubs and small trees in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Little study of the genus as a whole had been undertaken until Roger Hnatiuk researched Eremaea and published a paper in 1993, A revision of the genus Eremaea (Myrtaceae) in Nuytsia. The first species to be described was Eremaea pauciflora in 1837 and by 1964, the number of species known had increased to 12. Hnatiuk recognised 16 species, 5 subspecies and a number of varieties.

<i>Beaufortia sparsa</i> Species of flowering plant

Beaufortia sparsa, commonly known as swamp bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with round, dished leaves crowded on the younger stems, and bright red flower spikes in the warmer months.

<i>Melaleuca linearis</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca linearis, commonly known as narrow-leaved bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a medium-sized shrub with narrow leaves with a rigid point, and red flower spikes in late spring or early summer.

<i>Calothamnus rupestris</i> Species of flowering plant

Calothamnus rupestris, commonly known as mouse ears or granite net-bush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with short, stiff, prickly leaves and pink to red flowers in spring.

<i>Melaleuca decussata</i> Species of plant

Melaleuca decussata, commonly known as cross-leaf honey-myrtle or totem poles, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae native to South Australia and both native and naturalised in Victoria. It is an adaptable shrub, grown in many parts of Australia for its attractive foliage but is regarded as an environmental weed in parts of Victoria.

<i>Calothamnus villosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Calothamnus villosus, commonly known as woolly net-bush or silky net-bush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall shrub, often forming thickets. It has thin, cylindrical leaves and blood red flowers for many months of the year. It is superficially similar to Calothamnus quadrifidus but can be distinguished from that species by its flowers which have five stamen claws compared to the four of C. quadrifidus.

<i>Conothamnus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Conothamnus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. They are woody shrubs similar to melaleucas but differ in that their leaves are usually arranged in opposite pairs and the maximum number of seeds per fruit is three.

Calothamnus gracilis is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with upright foliage, common in heath within its range. It has long, thin leaves and produces dark red flowers at different times of the year, depending partly on rainfall. It is similar to Calothamnus gibbosus but lacks the corky bark on the older branches of that species and its flowers and fruit are not as deeply embedded in the bark.

Calothamnus huegelii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub growing to a height of about 2 metres (6.6 ft) with red flowers in autumn or September.

Calothamnus lehmannii, commonly known as dwarf claw flower, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low-lying, sometimes ground-hugging shrub with long, thin, cylindrical leaves and clusters of red flowers that are smaller than any others in the genus Calothamnus.

<i>Calothamnus preissii</i> Species of flowering plant

Calothamnus preissii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low-lying, sometimes ground-hugging shrub with needle-like leaves and reddish-purple flowers in spring.

<i>Beaufortia decussata</i> Species of flowering plant

Beaufortia decussata, commonly known as gravel bottlebrush, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has long stems branching only near the upper ends, and scarlet to orange-red flowers in a bottlebrush shape beneath the branches.

<i>Beaufortia micrantha</i> Species of flowering plant

Beaufortia micrantha, commonly known as small-leaved beaufortia or little bottlebrush, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a compact shrub with tiny leaves pressed against the stems and profuse heads of purple or pinkish-coloured flowers.

<i>Beaufortia sprengelioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Beaufortia sprengelioides is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a rigid, spreading shrub with crowded, round leaves and small, roughly spherical heads of pale pink flowers on the ends of its branches. It was one of the first Australian plant species collected by Europeans and has had several name changes since then.

References

  1. "Corymbia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Beaufortia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  3. Rye, Barbara Lynette (2009). "An interim key to the Western Australian tribes and genera of Myrtaceae" (PDF). Nuytsia. 19 (2): 313–323. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  4. Fagg, Murray. "Myrtaceae illustrations". Australian National Botanic Garden. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Burbidge, Andrew A. (2016). "A taxonomic revision of Beaufortia (Myrtaceae: Melaleuceae)". Nuytsia. 27: 165–202.
  6. 1 2 3 "Beaufortia". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  7. Kubitzki, Klaus, ed. (2010). The families and genera of vascular plants sapindales, cucurbitales, myrtaceae. Heidelberg: Springer. p. 237. ISBN   9783642143977 . Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  8. "Beaufortia". APNI. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  9. Brown, Robert (1812). Hortus Kewensis (2nd ed.). Paternoster Row, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown. p. 418. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  10. Sims, John (1840). Curtis's Botanical magazine (Vol. XLII). London: Sherwood, Neely and Jones. p. 1733. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  11. Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1993). Bottlebrushes, paperbarks & tea trees, and all other plants in the Leptospermum alliance (1 ed.). Pymble, N.S.W.: Angus & Robertson. p. 47. ISBN   0207168679.
  12. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  13. Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. pp. 182–183. ISBN   0002165759.
  14. "Beaufortia". Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 8 August 2015.