''Lissanthe'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of about 10 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Lissanthe'' are small, erect to spreading shrubs with egg-shaped to oblong leaves. Up to 17

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

flowers are arranged in leaf axils or on the ends of branches, the 5 petals joined at the base to form a cylindrical to urn-shaped tube with triangular lobes.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Lissanthe'' are small, erect to spreading shrubs with egg-shaped to oblong,

petiolate Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, a ...

leaves that are usually a paler shade of green on the lower surface. The leaves have a small point on the tip and a few parallel veins on the lower surface. Up to 17 bisexual flowers are arranged in leaf axils or on the ends of branchlets with a

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

and 2 bracteoles at the base of the flowers. The 5 petals are joined at the base to form a cylindrical to urn-shaped tube that is longer than the

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 and has triangular,

valvate Aestivation or estivation is the positional arrangement of the parts of a flower within a flower bud before it has opened. Aestivation is also sometimes referred to as praefoliation or prefoliation, but these terms may also mean vernation: the ar ...

, glabrous lobes in the bud, and spreading to curved backwards in the open flower. The style is enclosed within the petal tube and the style is lobed. The fruits is

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

with a hard covering.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Lissanthe'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''. The name ''Lissanthe'' means "a smooth flower", referring to the petal lobes that are not bearded.

Species list

The following is a list of ''Lissanthe'' 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 at February 2024: * '' Lissanthe brevistyla''

A.R.Bean Anthony Russell Bean (born 1957) is an Australian botanist who works at the Queensland Herbarium and Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha. Since 1982, he has led the Eucalyptus Study Group of the Society for Growing Australian Plants. Care ...

(Qld.) * '' Lissanthe pleurandroides'' (

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 Victo ...

) Crayn & Hislop (W.A.) * '' Lissanthe pluriloculata'' (F.Muell.) J.M.Powell, Crayn & E.A.Br. (Qld.) * '' Lissanthe powelliae'' Crayn & E.A.Br. (W.A.) * '' Lissanthe rubicunda'' (F.Muell.) J.M.Powell, Crayn & E.A.Br. (W.A.) * '' Lissanthe sapida'' R.Br. – native cranberry (N.S.W.) * '' Lissanthe scabra'' Crayn & E.A.Br. (W.A.) * ''

Lissanthe strigosa ''Lissanthe strigosa'', commonly known as peach heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and white to pink, cylindrical flowers. ...

'' (

Sm. __NOTOC__ Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. Early life and education Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a ...

) R.Br. ** ''Lissanthe strigosa'' (Sm.) R.Br. subsp. ''strigosa'' (N.S.W.) ** ''Lissanthe strigosa'' subsp. ''subulata'' (R.Br.) J.M.Powell (S.A., Qld., N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic., Tas.) * '' Lissanthe synandra'' Crayn & Hislop (W.A.)

Distribution

Species of ''Lissanthe'' are found in all Australian states but not in the Northern Territory.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1946360 Epacridoideae Ericaceae genera Ericales of Australia