''Philotheca'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of about fifty species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Der ...

. Plants in this genus are shrubs with simple leaves arranged alternately along the stems, flowers that usually have 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 coine ...

s, five petals and ten stamens that curve inwards over the ovary. All species are

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 else ...

to Australia and there are species in every state, but not the Northern Territory.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Philotheca'' are shrubs that are either

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

or have tiny, simple hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems, narrow oblong to almost cylindrical and

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

or on a very short petiole. From a single to many flowers are arranged in leaf axils or on the ends of the branchlets. The flowers have five sepals and five petals (except in '' P. virgata'' which has four). The sepals are free from each other and the petals usually overlap at their bases. There are ten stamens that curve inwards over the ovary with anthers that have an appendage called the "apiculum". The ovary contains five carpels fused near their bases. The seeds are long and are released explosively from their capsule.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Philotheca'' was first formally described in 1816 by

Edward Rudge Edward Rudge (27 June 1763 – 1846) was an English botanist and antiquary. Life He was the son of Edward Rudge, a merchant and alderman of Salisbury, who possessed a large portion of the abbey estate at Evesham. He matriculated from Queen' ...

from a specimen collected near

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...

and the description was published in ''

Transactions of the Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature col ...

''. The first species Rudge described was ''P. australis'' but this name is considered a

nomen illegitimum ''Nomen illegitimum'' (Latin for illegitimate name) is a technical term, used mainly in botany. It is usually abbreviated as ''nom. illeg.'' Although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants uses Latin terms for other ki ...

and a

taxonomic synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Lin ...

of ''

Philotheca salsolifolia ''Philotheca salsolifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is a shrub with crowded, more or less cylindrical leaves and pink to mauve flowers ...

'' 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 ...

. The name ''Philotheca'' should have been written ''Psilotheca'' after the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

words ''psilos'' meaning "bare", "smooth", "bald" or "naked" and ''theke'' meaning "case", "container", "envelope" or "sheath", referring to "the smooth tube of the stamens". Many plants formerly in ''

Eriostemon ''Eriostemon'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family Rutaceae. It is native to eastern Australia and includes just two species, '' E. australasius'' and '' E. banksii''. ''Eriostemon australasius'', commonly known as pink wax flower, oc ...

'' are now in this genus.

Distribution

Plants in the genus ''Philotheca'' are found in every state of Australia, but not in the Northern Territory.

Species

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

as at April 2019: *'' Philotheca acrolopha'' Paul G.Wilson (Qld.) *'' Philotheca angustifolia'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson – narrow-leaf wax flower **''Philotheca angustifolia'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''angustifolia'' (Vic., S.A.) **''Philotheca angustifolia'' subsp. ''montana'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson (Vic.) *'' Philotheca apiculata'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca basistyla'' Mollemans (W.A.) *'' Philotheca brevifolia'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G. Wilson (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca brucei'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) **''Philotheca brucei'' subsp. ''brevifolia'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson **''Philotheca brucei'' (F.Muell.) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''brucei'' **''Philotheca brucei'' subsp. ''cinerea'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson *''

Philotheca buxifolia ''Philotheca buxifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a shrub with more or less oblong leaves and solitary white to pink flowers arranged singly on the ends of branchlets. ...

'' (Sm.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) **''Philotheca buxifolia'' (Sm.) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''buxifolia'' – box-leaf wax flower **''Philotheca buxifolia'' subsp. ''falcata'' Paul G. Wilson **''Philotheca buxifolia'' subsp. ''obovata'' (G.Don) Paul G. Wilson *'' Philotheca ciliata'' Hook. (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca citrina'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca coateana'' Paul G. Wilson (W.A.) *''

Philotheca coccinea ''Philotheca coccinea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with club-shaped leaves that are warty on the lower surface, and red to pink flowers arranged singly in leaf ax ...

'' (C.A.Gardner) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *''

Philotheca conduplicata ''Philotheca conduplicata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with elliptical leaves clustered near the ends of the branchlets and white flowers arranged singly or in two ...

'' (Paul G. Wilson) P.I.Forst. (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca cuticularis'' Paul G. Wilson (Qld.) *'' Philotheca cymbiformis'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca deserti'' (E. Pritzel) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) **''Philotheca deserti'' subsp. ''brevifolia'' Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca deserti'' (E.Pritz.) Paul G.Wilson subsp. ''deserti'' *'' Philotheca difformis'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca difformis'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''difformis'' – small-leaf wax-flower (Qld., N.S.W., Vic., S.A.) **''Philotheca difformis'' subsp. ''smithiana'' (Benth.) Paul G. Wilson (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca epilosa'' (Paul G. Wilson) P.I.Forst. (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca eremicola'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca ericifolia'' (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca falcata'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca fitzgeraldii'' (C.R.P.Andrews) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca freyciana'' Rozefelds (Tas.) *'' Philotheca gardneri'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) **''Philotheca gardneri'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''gardneri'' **''Philotheca gardneri'' subsp. ''globosa'' Paul G. Wilson *'' Philotheca glabra'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca glasshousiensis'' (Domin) P.I.Forst. (Qld.) *'' Philotheca hispidula'' (Sieber ex Spreng.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca kalbarriensis'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca langei'' Mollemans (W.A.) *'' Philotheca linearis'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A., S.A., N.S.W.) *''

Philotheca myoporoides ''Philotheca myoporoides'', commonly known as long-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 sessile, oblong to egg-shaped, glandular-warty leaves a ...

'' (DC.) M.J.Bayly ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' subsp. ''acuta'' (Blakely) Bayly (N.S.W.) ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' subsp. ''brevipedunculata'' Bayly (N.S.W.) ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' subsp. ''euroensis'' Bayly (Vic.) ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' (DC.) Bayly subsp. ''myoporoides'' (N.S.W., Vic.) ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' subsp. ''petraea'' Rozefelds (Vic.) *'' Philotheca nodiflora'' (Lindl.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) **''Philotheca nodiflora'' subsp. ''calycina'' (Turcz.) Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca nodiflora'' subsp. ''lasiocalyx'' (Domin) Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca nodiflora'' subsp. ''latericola'' Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca nodiflora'' (Lindl.) Paul G.Wilson subsp. ''nodiflora'' *'' Philotheca nutans'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca obovalis'' (A.Cunn.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca obovatifolia'' (Bayly) P.I.Forst. (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca pachyphylla'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca papillata'' I.Telford & L.M.Copel. (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca pinoides'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca pungens'' (Lindl.) Paul G.Wilson — prickly waxflower (Vic., S.A.) *'' Philotheca queenslandica'' (C.T.White) P.I.Forst. (Qld.) *'' Philotheca reichenbachii'' Sieber ex Spreng. (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca rhomboidea'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *''

'' (Sm.) Druce (N.S.W., A.C.T.) **''Philotheca salsolifolia'' subsp. ''pedicellata'' Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca salsolifolia'' (Sm.) Druce subsp. ''salsolifolia'' *'' Philotheca scabra'' (Paxton) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) **''Philotheca scabra'' subsp. ''latifolia'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca scabra'' (Paxton) Paul G.Wilson subsp. ''scabra'' *'' Philotheca sericea'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca spicata'' (A.Rich.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca sporadica'' (M.J.Bayly) Paul G.Wilson (Qld.) *'' Philotheca thryptomenoides'' (S.Moore) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca tomentella'' (Diels) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca trachyphylla'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W., Vic.) *'' Philotheca tubiflora'' A.S.George (W.A.) *''

Philotheca verrucosa ''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 branch ...

'' (A.Rich.) Paul G.Wilson (Vic., S.A., Tas.) *''

Philotheca virgata ''Philotheca virgata'', commonly known as Tasmanian wax-flower, 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 p ...

'' (Hook.f.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W., Vic., Tas.) *''

Philotheca wonganensis ''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 ...

'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7186291 Zanthoxyloideae genera