''Baeckea frutescens'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

and is native to eastern Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia. It is a shrub with arching branches, linear leaves and white flowers with seven to thirteen

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 ...

Description

''Baeckea frutescens'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to and has arching branches. Its leaves are linear and often clustered on short side-branches, long and about wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils and are wide 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. 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 are rounded-triangular, the five petals white, more or less round and long, and there are seven to thirteen stamens. Flowering mainly occurs in summer and the fruit is a capsule about in diameter.

Taxonomy

''Baeckea frutescens'' was first formally described in 1753 by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

''. The specific epithet (''frutescens'') means "becoming bushy or shrubby".

Distribution and habitat

This baeckea grows in heath and open grassland from south-east China to eastern Australia. In Australia it grows in near-coastal areas as far south as

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

Use in horticulture

This species' tiny leaves and branches make it a popular subject of

bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q11048575 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland frutescens Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus