''Backhousia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of thirteen currently known species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s 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 ...

. All the currently known species are

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 Australia in the

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

s and seasonally dry forests of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. In 1845 in the European science publication the '' Botanical Magazine''

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botany, botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew Gardens, Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botan ...

and

William Henry Harvey William Henry Harvey, FRS FLS (5 February 1811 – 15 May 1866) was an Irish botanist and phycologist who specialised in algae. Biography Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father ...

first published this genus's formal description and name, after

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

James Backhouse :''See alsfor two other James Backhouse botanists and nursery owners of York.'' James Backhouse (8 July 1794 – 20 January 1869) was a botanist and missionary for the Quaker Church body, church in Australia. His son, also James Backhouse (bota ...

from England and Australia. They grow to aromatic

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s or trees from tall, with leaves long and wide, arranged opposite to each other.

Species

Sourced from the authoritative ''

Australian Plant Name Index The Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) is an online database of all published names of Australian vascular plants. It covers all names, whether current names, synonyms or invalid names. It includes bibliographic and typification details, informati ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' . For

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

including undescribed species further afield outside Australia, for example likely in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, this list lacks them—refer also to the genus ''Kania''. * '' Backhousia angustifolia'' , curry myrtle, narrow leaf myrtle * ''

Backhousia bancroftii ''Backhousia'' is a genus of thirteen currently known species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. All the currently known species are endemic to Australia in the rainforests and seasonally dry forests of Queensland, New South Wales and ...

'' , Johnstone River hardwood * ''

Backhousia citriodora ''Backhousia citriodora'', commonly known as lemon myrtle, lemon scented myrtle or lemon scented ironwood, is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to the subtropical rainforests of central and south-eastern Queensland, Austral ...

'' , lemon scented myrtle, sweet verbena tree, lemon scented verbena, lemon ironwood * '' Backhousia enata'' * '' Backhousia gundarara'' ; formerly ''Backhousia'' sp. Prince Regent (W.O'Sullivan & D.Dureau WODD 42) WA Herbarium * '' Backhousia hughesii'' , stony backhousia, stonewood, lime wood, grey teak * '' Backhousia kingii'' * '' Backhousia leptopetala'' , former name: ''Choricarpia leptopetala'' , brush turpentine, brown myrtle * '' Backhousia myrtifolia'' , grey myrtle, carrol, ironwood, neverbreak, iron myrtle, cinnamon myrtle * '' Backhousia oligantha'' * '' Backhousia sciadophora'' , shatterwood, ironwood, boomerang tree * ''

Backhousia subargentea ''Backhousia subargentea'' (syn. ''Choricarpia subargentea'') is a rare Australian rainforest tree, growing near Mullumbimby in northeastern New South Wales and from Boonah to Imbil in southeastern Queensland. Common names include giant iro ...

'' , former name: ''Choricarpia subargentea'' , giant ironwood, scrub ironwood, lancewood, ironwood box * '' Backhousia tetraptera'' ;Formerly included here: * ''Backhousia anisata'' was transferred to ''Anetholea anisata'', and later to ''

Syzygium anisatum ''Syzygium anisatum'', with common names ringwood and aniseed tree, is a rare rainforest tree native to New South Wales, Australia. The aromatic leaves contain an essential oil profile comparable to true aniseed. The leaf from cultivated plant ...

''.

References

Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Rosids of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Myrtaceae genera Endemic flora of Australia Taxa named by William Henry Harvey {{Australia-rosid-stub