''Angophora'' is a genus of nine species of trees and shrubs in the myrtle 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 ...
.
Endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
to eastern Australia, they differ from other
eucalypts in having juvenile and adult leaves arranged in opposite pairs,
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
Etymology
The term ''sepalum'' ...
s reduced to projections on the edge of the
floral cup, four or five overlapping, more or less round
petal
Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...
s, and a papery or thin, woody, often strongly ribbed
capsule. Species are found between the
Atherton Tableland in Queensland and south through New South Wales to eastern Victoria, Australia.
Description
Plants in the genus ''Angophora'' are trees, occasionally shrubs, with rough bark except for ''
A. costata''. The juvenile leaves differ from adult leaves in being hairy with raised oil
glands. Both juvenile and adult leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, the adult leaves usually
glabrous and paler on the lower surface. The flower buds are arranged in groups of three or seven. The flower has four or five small sepals, reduced to small projections on the rim of the floral cup. There are four or five more or less round, keeled, overlapping petals and
whorls of many creamy white
stamen
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s. Unlike in ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
'' and ''
Corymbia'', the petals and sepals are not fused to form a cap-like
operculum. The fruit is a papery or thin, slightly woody, hairy capsule with longitudinal ribs.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Angophora'' was first formally described in 1797 by
Antonio José Cavanilles in his book ''Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum''.
''Angophora'' is closely related to ''
Corymbia'' and ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
'', and all three genera are often referred to as "eucalypts". Collectively the eucalypts dominate many Australian
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
s.
have long recognised the relationships between the eucalypt taxa, but have not agreed upon a classification scheme. Some have proposed merging ''Angophora'' and ''Corymbia'' into genus ''Eucalyptus'' as
subgenera
In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...
, a plan which was immediately rejected by others. Some authors maintain ''Angophora'' as a genus, while others continue to debate the issue.
[Nelson, G., et al. (2003)]
Brummitt on paraphyly: a response.
''Taxon'' 52(2), 295-98.
Among the eucalypts, ''Angophora'' species were nicknamed "apples" by European settlers, who thought they resembled
apple trees.
Many are still known commonly as apples today.
[
]
Species
The following is a list species of 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 Sys ...
as at March 2020:
Distribution
Angophoras are found in coastal Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria from the Atherton Tableland to eastern Victoria.
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1904772
Endemic flora of Australia
Myrtaceae genera
Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles
Myrtales of Australia