Homoranthus

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Homoranthus
Homoranthus flavescens.JPG
Homoranthus flavescens
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Subfamily: Myrtoideae
Tribe: Chamelaucieae
Genus: Homoranthus
A.Cunn. ex Schauer [1] [2]
Synonyms [1]
  • RylstoneaR.T.Baker
  • SchuermanniaF.Muell.

Homoranthus is a genus of about thirty species of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and all are endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus share similarities with those in both Darwinia and Verticordia . They are shrubs with their leaves arranged in opposite pairs and with flowers appearing either singly or in small groups, usually in upper leaf axils. They are found in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. The genus was first described in 1836. None of the species is common nor are they well-known in horticulture.

Contents

Description

Plants in the genus Homoranthus are shrubs with their leaves arranged in opposite pairs, at right angles to the ones above and below (decussate) so that the leaves are in four rows along the stems. They are linear to cylindrical in shape, sometimes thicker than wide. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups of up to four in the upper leaf axils. There are five sepals and five petals which are enclosed in two bracteoles before the flower opens, and which surround the base of the style. There are ten stamens alternating with ten staminodes. The style extends beyond the petals and has a ring of hairs below its tip. The fruit is a capsule containing one or two seeds. [3]

The Australian botanist Norman Byrnes has noted that Homoranthus "is not a clearly defined natural group but is more a genus of convenience between Darwinia and Verticordia . [4] In 1869, George Bentham wrote "Its retention [as a separate genus] may, however, be justified as facilitating the distinction between Darwinia and Verticordia". [5]

Taxonomy and naming

The genus Homoranthus was first formally described in 1836 by Johannes Conrad Schauer after an unpublished description by Allan Cunningham. [2] Schauer's description was published in Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde. [6] [7] [8] The genus name (Homoranthus) is derived from the Ancient Greek words homos meaning "same", "uniform", "like" or "similar" [9] :306 and anthos meaning "flower". [9] :94

Species

The following is a list of species accepted by the Australian Plant Census as at January 2020:

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

Asteromyrtus is a genus of flowering plants in the Myrtaceae family. It is closely related to Callistemon and Melaleuca.

<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>Scholtzia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Scholtzia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae, which are endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The genus was first described by Schauer in 1843, who named it in honour of the physician Heinrich Scholtz. The type species is Scholtzia obovata.

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

Verticordia is a genus of more than 100 species of plants commonly known as featherflowers, in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. They range in form from very small shrubs such as V. verticordina to trees like V. cunninghamii, some spindly, others dense and bushy, but the majority are woody shrubs up to 2.0 m (7 ft) tall. The flowers are variously described as "feathery", "woolly" or "hairy" and are found in most colours except blue. They often appear to be in rounded groups or spikes but in fact are always single, each flower borne on a separate stalk in a leaf axil. Each flower has five sepals and five petals all of a similar size with the sepals often having feathery or hairy lobes. There are usually ten stamens alternating with variously shaped staminodes. The style is simple, usually not extending beyond the petals and often has hairs near the tip. All but two species are found in Southwest Australia, the other two occurring in the Northern Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chamelaucieae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

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<i>Homoranthus wilhelmii</i> Species of plant

Homoranthus wilhelmii, commonly known as the eastern feather flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a small, spreading shrub with cylindrical to flattened leaves and white or pink flowers arranged in corymbs on the ends of branchlets. The distribution includes an area on the Yorke Peninsula, but it is most common on the southern Eyre Peninsula.

<i>Homoranthus darwinioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Homoranthus darwinioides, commonly known as fairy bells, is a species of flowering plant in the family, Myrtaceae. It is a small, spreading shrub with pendulous yellow and pink flowers, grey-green leaves and is endemic to New South Wales.

<i>Darwinia briggsiae</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia briggsiae is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with linear-shaped leaves and small groups of pink and white flowers.

<i>Homoranthus homoranthoides</i> Species of plant

Homoranthus homoranthoides is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to South Australia.

<i>Leptospermum glaucescens</i> Species of shrub

Leptospermum glaucescens, commonly known as the blue-green tea tree or smoky tea tree, is a species of shrub or small tree that is endemic to Tasmania. It has elliptical to egg-shaped leaves that are often greyish green, white flowers about 15 mm (0.59 in) in diameter arranged in consecutive leaf axils and fruit that remain on the plant for some time after maturity.

<i>Homoranthus biflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Homoranthus biflorus is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in northern New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with cylinder-shaped leaves and small groups of usually yellow flowers.

<i>Homoranthus decumbens</i> Species of flowering plant

Homoranthus decumbens is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Queensland. It is a low, spreading shrub with cylindrical leaves arranged in alternating opposite pairs. The flowers are yellowish green and arranged singly in upper leaf axils.

<i>Homoranthus lunatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Homoranthus lunatus, commonly known as crescent-leaved homoranthus, is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in northern New South Wales. It is a spreading shrub with curved leaves and small groups of up to six yellow flowers in leaf axils.

<i>Homoranthus porteri</i> Species of flowering plant

Homoranthus porteri is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to a small area in northern Queensland, Australia. It is an upright shrub with creamy-white to red pendulous flowers in pairs on a short stalk with red bracts and small linear leaves.

<i>Homoranthus prolixus</i> Species of flowering plant

Homoranthus prolixus, commonly known as granite homoranthus is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to northern New South Wales. It is a spreading shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and groups of up to six yellow to red flowers in the upper leaf axils.

<i>Homoranthus thomasii</i> Species of flowering plant

Homoranthus thomasii is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a small shrub with spoon-shaped, greyish green leaves and small, pendulous, pink flowers in the upper leaf axils.

<i>Homoranthus zeteticorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Homoranthus zeteticorum is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in central Queensland. It is a tall shrub with axehead-shaped leaves and pendulous flowers with darker styles.

Lachlan Mackenzie Copeland is an Australian botanist, who obtained his PhD at the University of New England, with a thesis entitled Systematic studies in Homoranthus.

<i>Darwinia salina</i> Species of plant

Darwinia salina is a small shrub in the myrtle family. It is native to South Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 "Homoranthus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. 1 2 Cunningham, A. (1836), Genera Chamaelauciearum Nova Quaedam. Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde 10: 310
  3. Harden, Gwen J. "Genus Homoranthus". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  4. Byrnes, Norman B. (1981). "Notes on the genus Homoranthus (Myrtaceae) in Australia". Austrobaileya. 1 (4): 372. jstor
  5. Bentham, George (1869). "Notes on Myrtaceae". Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany. 10: 129. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1868.tb02028.x . Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  6. "Homoranthus". APNI. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  7. Schauer, Johannes C. (1836). "Genera Chamaelauciearum". Linnaea: Ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde. 10: 310–311.
  8. Tropicos, Homoranthus A. Cunn. ex Schauer
  9. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

Further reading