''Andersonia'' is a genus of mostly small, evergreen shrubs in the family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

and is endemic to the

Southwest Botanical Province Southwest Australia is a ecoregion, biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean climate, Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region i ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Description

Plants in the genus ''Andersonia'' are small shrubs, (apart from '' A. axilliflora'' and '' A. echinocephala'' that grow to a height of several metres) some are subshrubs and a few, compact cushion plants, but all seem to require a fairly open habitat. The leaves resemble those of

monocotyledons Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of t ...

in having a sheathing leaf base and parallel leaf veins, although the veins arise from a single trace in the base of the leaf. The leaves are spirally arranged and overlap at the base and increase in size, upwards from the base of the stem, but vary greatly in size and shape. The flowers are erect, usually brightly coloured and conspicuous, the five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s egg-shaped to linear and often similarly coloured to the petals. The petals are joined at the base, forming a bell-shaped to cylindrical tube with five lobes that are shorter than the tube. The species differ form the similar '' Cosmelia rubra'' in having their

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

filaments free from the petal tube, and from '' Styphelia'' in having the petal tube softy-hairy inside, the petal tube longer than the lobes.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Andersonia'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

''. The genus name, ''Andersonia'', jointly honours

William Anderson William Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Anderson (artist) (1757–1837), painter of marine and historical paintings * William Anderson (theatre) (1868–1940), Australian stage entrepreneur * William Anderson (1911–1986), ...

, naval surgeon and naturalist, who accompanied Cook on several voyages,

Alexander Anderson Alexander Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Alexander Anderson (illustrator) (1775–1870), American illustrator * Alexander Anderson (poet) (1845–1909), Scottish poet * Alexander Anderson (cartoonist) (1920–2010), American car ...

, curator of the botanic garden at Saint Vincent, and

, curator of the Apothecaries' Garden at Chelsea.

Species list

The following is a list of ''Andersonia'' species accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

as of October 2022: *'' Andersonia annelsii'' Lemson *'' Andersonia aristata''

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

*'' Andersonia auriculata''

Leslie Watson Leslie Watson (born 17 August 1956) is a New Zealand cricketer. He played in one first-class and three List A matches for Canterbury in 1978/79. See also * List of Canterbury representative cricketers This is a list of all male cricketers ...

*'' Andersonia axilliflora'' ( Stschegl.) Druce *'' Andersonia barbata'' L.Watson *'' Andersonia bifida'' L.Watson *'' Andersonia brevifolia''

Sond. Otto Wilhelm Sonder (18 June 1812, Bad Oldesloe – 21 November 1881) was a German botanist and pharmacist. Life A native of Holstein, Sonder studied at Kiel University, where he sat pharmaceutical examinations in 1835, before becoming the prop ...

*'' Andersonia caerulea'' R.Br. *'' Andersonia carinata'' L.Watson *'' Andersonia depressa'' R.Br. *'' Andersonia echinocephala'' (Stschegl.) Druce *'' Andersonia ferricola'' Lemson *'' Andersonia geniculata'' Lemson *'' Andersonia gracilis''

DC. Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

*'' Andersonia grandiflora'' Stschegl. *'' Andersonia hammersleyana'' Lemson *'' Andersonia heterophylla'' Sond. *'' Andersonia involucrata'' Sond. *'' Andersonia latiflora'' (

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vic ...

)

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

*'' Andersonia lehmanniana'' Sond. *'' Andersonia longifolia'' (Benth.) L.Watson *'' Andersonia macranthera'' F.Muell. *'' Andersonia micrantha'' R.Br. *'' Andersonia parvifolia'' R.Br. *'' Andersonia pinaster'' Lemson *'' Andersonia redolens'' Lemson *'' Andersonia setifolia'' Benth. *'' Andersonia simplex'' (Stschegl.) Druce *'' Andersonia sprengelioides'' R.Br.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2495248 Epacridoideae Ericaceae genera