Philotheca virgata

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Tasmanian wax-flower
Philotheca virgata.jpg
Near Coles Bay, Tasmania
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Philotheca
Species:
P. virgata
Binomial name
Philotheca virgata
Synonyms [1]
  • Eriostemon virgatus A.Cunn. ex Hook
Habit Philotheca virgata habit.jpg
Habit

Philotheca virgata, commonly known as Tasmanian wax-flower, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a slender, erect shrub with wedge-shaped to oblong leaves and white or pale pink flowers at the ends of branchlets. It is the only philotheca with four sepals and petals.

Contents

Description

Philotheca virgata is a slender, erect shrub that typically grows to a height of about 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) and has prominently glandular warty branchlets. The leaves are sessile, narrow wedge-shaped to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) wide and glandular warty on the upper surface. The flowers are arranged singly on the end of branchlets on a thin pedicel 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long. The four sepals are more or less round, fleshy and about 1 mm (0.039 in) long. The four petals are white or pale pink, broadly elliptic and about 5.5 mm (0.22 in) long and the eight stamens are about 8 mm (0.31 in) long and hairy. Flowering occurs from May to December and the fruit is about 5 mm (0.20 in) long with a short beak. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy

Tasmanian wax-flower was first formally described in 1840 by Joseph Dalton Hooker from an unpublished description by Allan Cunningham who gave it the name Erisotemon virgatus. Hooker published the description in The Journal of Botany . [5] [6] In 1998, Paul Wilson changed the name to Philotheca virgata in the journal Nuytsia . [7] [8]

Distribution and habitat

Philotheca virgata grows in heathland and forest in coastal areas of southern and western Tasmania, south of Eden in New South Wales and in the extreme north east of Victoria. [2] [3] [4] [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Philotheca verrucosa</i> Species of plant

Philotheca verrucosa, commonly known as fairy wax-flower or Bendigo wax-flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a small shrub with prominently glandular-warty branchlets, heart-shaped or egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and white flowers usually arranged singly in leaf axils.

<i>Philotheca trachyphylla</i> Species of flowering plant

Philotheca trachyphylla, commonly known as rock wax-flower, is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with glandular-warty, oblong to narrow egg-shaped leaves and white flowers arranged singly or in twos or threes, in leaf axils.

<i>Philotheca angustifolia</i> Species of plant

Philotheca angustifolia, commonly known as narrow-leaf wax flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub with small leaves and white flowers with five egg-shaped petals in spring.

<i>Philotheca hispidula</i> Species of plant

Philotheca hispidula is a flowering plant in the citrus family and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a small shrub with narrow egg-shaped to wedge-shaped leaves that are glandular-wavy on the edges, and white or pale pink flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.

Philotheca cuticularis is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a rounded shrub with small, crowded leaves and small white flowers arranged singly on the ends of branchlets.

Philotheca cymbiformis is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading small shrub with fleshy, narrow elliptic leaves and single white and reddish brown flowers on the ends of branchlets.

<i>Philotheca deserti</i> Species of plant

Philotheca deserti is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to inland Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with narrow spindle-shaped, glandular-warty leaves and white flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.

<i>Philotheca difformis</i> Species of plant

Philotheca difformis is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to continental eastern Australia. It is a shrub with variably-shaped leaves depending on subspecies, and white flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to four on the ends of the branchlets. Subspecies difformis is commonly known as the small-leaf wax-flower.

<i>Philotheca epilosa</i> Species of plant

Philotheca epilosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end toward the base and crowded near the ends of the glandular-warty branchlets, and white flowers usually arranged singly on the ends of the branchlets.

Philotheca ericifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a much-branched shrub with glandular-warty branchlets, needle-shaped leaves and white to pink flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to six on the ends of the branchlets.

Philotheca falcata, commonly known as the sickle-leaved waxflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, densely-branched shrub with narrow club-shaped leaves and single flowers on the ends of branchlets.

Philotheca fitzgeraldii is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect, compact or spreading shrub with cylindrical, glandular-warty leaves and white flowers arranged singly in leaf axils and on the ends of branchlets.

Philotheca glabra is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to the inland south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with elliptical to club-shaped leaves and white flowers tinged with pink and arranged singly or in twos or three on the ends of branchlets.

<i>Philotheca glasshousiensis</i> Species of plant

Philotheca glasshousiensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub with densely glandular-warty branchlets, lance-shaped to wedge-shaped leaves clustered near the ends of the branchlets and cream-coloured flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to five.

<i>Philotheca linearis</i> Species of plant

Philotheca linearis, commonly known as the rock wallaby shrub or narrow-leaf wax-flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to an inland areas of southern Australia. It is a shrub with glandular-warty branchlets and leaves, club-shaped to cylindrical leaves and white flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.

Philotheca nutans is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, densely-branched shrub with club-shaped to cylindrical, glandular-warty leaves and pendent, pale yellow to pale red flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.

<i>Philotheca pachyphylla</i> Species of plant

Philotheca pachyphylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small shrub with fleshy, oblong, prominently glandular-warty leaves and white flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.

<i>Philotheca pinoides</i> Species of plant

Philotheca pinoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, erect undershrub with needle-shaped, glandular-warty leaves and pale pink or red flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to three in the axil of leaves at the end of branchlets.

Philotheca rhomboidea is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small undershrub with thick, broadly elliptic to round leaves and white to pale pink flowers arranged singly or in twos or threes at the end of branchlets.

Philotheca wonganensis, commonly known as Wongan philotheca, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with thin, cylindrical leaves and white flowers with a pink central stripe, usually arranged singly in leaf axils.

References

  1. 1 2 "Philotheca virgata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Wilson, Paul G.; Wilson, Annette J.G. (ed.) (2013). Flora of Australia (Volume 26). Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 400. Retrieved 15 August 2020.{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  3. 1 2 Bayly, Michael J. "Philotheca virgata". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  4. 1 2 Weston, Peter H.; Harden, Gwen J. "Philotheca virgata". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. "Eriostemon virgatus". APNI. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  6. Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1840). "Contributions towards a Flora of Van Dieman's Land, chiefly from the collections of Ronald Gunn., Esq., and the late Mr Lawrence". The Journal of Botany. 2: 417–418. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  7. "Philotheca virgata". APNI. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  8. Wilson, Paul G. (1998). "A Taxonomic Review of the genera Eriostemon and Philotheca". Nuytsia. 12 (2): 260. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  9. Jordan, Greg. "Philotheca virgata". University of Tasmania. Retrieved 15 August 2020.