''Philotheca fitzgeraldii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae 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 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.

Description

''Philotheca fitzgeraldii'' is an erect, compact or spreading shrub that grows to a height of with minutely hairy branchlets. The leaves are more or less cylindrical, glandular-warty, long and about wide and channelled on the upper surface. The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils and on the ends of branchlets, each flower on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. There are five leathery, semi-circular

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 about long and five egg-shaped white

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s about long. The ten

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 ...

s are glabrous. Flowering occurs from June to October and the fruit is about long and beaked.

Taxonomy and naming

This philotheca was first formally described in 1904 by Cecil Andrews who gave it the name ''Eriostemon fitzgeraldii'' and published the description in '' Journal of the West Australian Natural History Society'' from specimens he collected "on sand plains north of Esperance" in 1903. In 1998, Paul Wilson changed the name to ''Philotheca fitzgeraldii'' in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

''Philotheca fitzgeraldii'' grows in heath and woodland between

Norseman The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...

and Caiguna in the Coolgardie,

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region. It is a pl ...

and Mallee

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

Conservation status

This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18075527 fitzgeraldii Flora of Western Australia Sapindales of Australia Plants described in 1904 Taxa named by Cecil Rollo Payton Andrews