''Eriostemon'' 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 ...

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 of the family

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

. It is native to eastern Australia and includes just two species, '' E. australasius'' and '' E. banksii''. ''Eriostemon australasius'', commonly known as pink wax flower, occurs between

Fraser Island Fraser Island ( Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fras ...

and

Nowra Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in t ...

and is a shrub of heathlands and low open woodlands. ''Eriostemon banksii'' is endemic to

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

and is a shrub or small tree occurring in heathland and rainforest margins.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Eriostemon'' are shrubs or small trees which have their thinnest branches, leaves and petals covered with fine star-like hairs (although the hairs may only be visible with a magnifying glass). The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are simple leaves with smooth edges. The leaves are long, wide and have three or five main veins. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils, and about in diameter. There are five separate

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 and five petals with their edges overlapping. There are ten stamens, all with hairy filaments.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Eriostemon'' was first formally described in 1798 by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

but he did not nominate a

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

. 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 ...

''. ''Eriostemon australasius'' was nominated as the

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

by Paul Wilson in 1978. The genus name (''Eriostemon'') is derived from 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 ''erion'' meaning "wool" and ''stemon'' meaning "stamen" referring to the woolly stamens. A large number of species once classified within the genus have been placed in the newer genus ''

Philotheca ''Philotheca'' is a genus of about fifty species of flowering plants in the Family (biology), family Rutaceae. Plants in this genus are shrubs with simple leaves arranged alternately along the stems, flowers that usually have five sepals, five p ...

'' including ''Eriostemon verrucosus'' (now ''

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 ...

''), ''E. myoporoides'' ('' Philotheca myoporoides'') and ''E. buxifolius'' (''

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. ...

''). The only two species currently included are '' E. australasius'' and '' E. banksii''.

Use in horticulture

Pink wax flower is described as being a "very desirable" garden plant, however it is difficult to propagate and to maintain. A semi-shaded position in well-drained soil is regarded as the conditions best suited to the species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2738553 Zanthoxyloideae Zanthoxyloideae genera