''Babingtonia'' is a genus of 11 species of flowering plants 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 ...

and is

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 the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

of Western Australia. Plants in the genus ''Babingtonia'' are

glabrous Glabrousness () 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 a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

shrubs with

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by John ...

linear, lance-shaped or elliptic leaves with white flowers arranged singly or in groups of three to seven, in leaf axils.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Babingtonia'' are glabrous shrubs, sometimes up to high, with scaly or fibrous bark. The leaves are simple, arranged in opposite pairs, linear, lance-shaped or elliptic, with oil

glands A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also funct ...

usually only visible on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups of up to seven in leaf axils and are

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, radially symmetrical, and 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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s and five petals. The petals are white, more or less round, wide and have between three and fifteen

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 in a single

whorl A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). In nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagra ...

. The fruit is a woody, hemispherical to bowl-shaped capsule with the remains of the sepals attached.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Babingtonia'' was first formally described in 1842 by

John Lindley John Lindley Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist. Early years Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...

in ''

Edwards's Botanical Register ''The Botanical Register'', subsequently known as ''Edwards's Botanical Register'', was an illustrated horticultural magazine that ran from 1815 to 1847. It was started by the botanical illustrator Sydenham Edwards, who had previously illustrat ...

''. Lindley nominated '' Babingtonia camphorosmae'', (previously known as ''Baeckea camphorosmae'' Endl.) as the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

species. The name ''Babingtonia'' honours Charles Babington. Many species formerly placed in the genus are currently included in '' Sannantha'', ''

Baeckea ''Baeckea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, all but one endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Baeckea'' are shrubs or small trees with leaves arranged in opposite pairs, white to deep pink flowers with five s ...

'', '' Oxymyrrhine'', '' Kardomia'', ''

Seorsus ''Seorsus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. The occurrence of the four species in Australia and Borneo is widely spaced, and is thought to be indicative that the genus predates the breakup of Gondwana. Species include: ...

'' and ''

Harmogia ''Harmogia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. The sole species is ''Harmogia densifolia'' which is endemic to Australia. ''Harmogia densifolia'' is a shrub to 1.5 metres high with linear or terete leaves. White ...

''.''Babingtonia'' species list.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.

Species list

The following is a list of species of ''Babingtonia'' 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 of September 2023: * '' Babingtonia camphorosmae'' ( Endl.) Lindl. – camphor myrtle * '' Babingtonia cherticola''

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

& Trudgen * '' Babingtonia delicata'' Rye & Trudgen * '' Babingtonia erecta'' Rye & Trudgen * '' Babingtonia fascifolia'' Rye * '' Babingtonia grandiflora'' (

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

) Rye – large-flowered babingtonia * '' Babingtonia maleyae'' Rye & Trudgen – Narrogin babingtonia * '' Babingtonia minutifolia'' Rye & Trudgen * '' Babingtonia pelloeae'' Rye & Trudgen – Pelloe's babingtonia * '' Babingtonia triandra'' Rye & Hislop – triplet babingtonia * '' Babingtonia urbana'' Rye & Trudgen – coastal plain babingtonia

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4837916 Myrtaceae genera Endemic flora of Australia