''Baeckea'' is a genus 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 spe ...
, all but one
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...
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
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 ...
s and five petals, and five to fifteen
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 filam ...
s that are shorter than the petals.
Description
Plants in the genus ''Baeckea'' are
glabrous
Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") 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 o ...
shrubs, sometimes small trees, usually with the leaves arranged in opposite pairs or decussate. The flowers are usually arranged singly in leaf axils on a pedicel with two bracteoles at the base but that sometimes fall off as the flower opens. There are five sepals and five white to deep pink , more or less round petals that are free from each other. Five to fifteen stamens are arranged in a single row and are shorter that the petals and open by parallel slits. The fruit is a capsule containing many seeds.''Baeckia''. Flora of China.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Baeckea'' 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, ...
in his ''
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 genus is named in honor of the Swedish physician Abraham Bäck (or Baeck) (1713–1795).Genaust, H. (1976). ''Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen''
Many species formerly placed in the genus are currently included in '' Euryomyrtus'', '' Harmogia'', '' Kardomia'', '' Oxymyrrhine'', '' Rinzia'', '' Sannantha'', '' Seorsus'' and '' Triplarina''.
The closest genera to ''Baeckea'' are the fleshy-fruited ''
Myrcianthes
''Myrcianthes'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae described as a genus in 1856.Acmena'', and the dry-fruited ''
Angophora
''Angophora'' is a genus of nine species of trees and shrubs in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Endemic to eastern Australia, they differ from other eucalypts in having juvenile and adult leaves arranged in opposite pairs, sepals reduced to project ...
Species in the genus ''Baeckea'' are endemic to Australia, apart from '' B. frutescens'' that also occurs in Malesia.
Species list
The names of 27 species of ''Baeckea'' have been accepted by
Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants ...
Rudge Rudge may refer to:
Places
*Rudge, Shropshire, England
*Rudge, Somerset, England
* Rugde (Kristiansand), a neighbourhood in Kristiansand, Norway
People
*Anne Rudge (1761–1836), English botanist
*Antonietta Rudge (1885–1974), Brazilian pian ...
)
DC.
Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...
(N.S.W.)
*''
Baeckea diosmifolia
''Baeckea diosmifolia'', commonly known as fringed baeckea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and white flo ...
Pritz.
Georg August Pritzel (2 September 1815, Siedlisko, Nowa Sól County, Carolath – 14 June 1874) was a German librarian and botanist, botanical writer.
He studied in Breslau, graduating with a dissertation titled ''Anemonarum revisio''. In 1851 he ...
(W.A.)
*''
Baeckea exserta
''Baeckea exserta'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub that typically grows to a height of and blooms between August and November producing pink and whit ...
''
S.Moore
Spencer Le Marchant Moore (1 November 1850 – 14 March 1931) was an English botanist.
Biography
Moore was born in Hampstead. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from about 1870 to 1879, wrote a number of botanical papers, and then wo ...
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 ...
Baeckea imbricata
''Baeckea imbricata'', commonly known as heath myrtle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with elliptical to egg-shaped or round leaves and small white flowers with five to ...
Baeckea kandos
''Baeckea kandos'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales. It is a spreading shrub with narrow egg-shaped to linear leaves and small white flowers with ten to twelve stamen ...
C.R.P.Andrews
Cecil Rollo Payton Andrews (2 February 1870 – 13 June 1951) was an English educator, botanist and collector who was born in London in 1870 and died in Surrey in 1951.
He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and St John's College, Oxford an ...
(W.A.)
*''
Baeckea latifolia
''Baeckea latifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is a shrub with broadly elliptic leaves and small white flowers with six to eight stamens.
Description
'' ...
Turcz.
Nikolai Stepanovich Turczaninow ( ru , Николай Степанович Турчанинов, 1796 in Nikitovka, now in Krasnogvardeysky District, Belgorod Oblast, Russia – 1863 in Kharkov) was a Russian botanist and plant collector who ...
C.A.Gardner
Charles Austin Gardner (6 January 1896 – 24 February 1970) was an English-born Western Australian botanist.
Biography
Born in Lancaster, in England, on 6 January 1896, Gardner emigrated to Western Australia with his family in 1909, whe ...
Baeckea pentagonantha
''Baeckea pentagonantha'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to near-coastal areas in the west of Western Australia. It is an erect, spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of and blooms between Jul ...
Baeckea robusta
''Baeckea robusta'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to an area along the west coast Western Australia. It is an erect and slender shrub that typically grows to a height of and blooms between June and De ...
'' F.Muell. (W.A.)
*''
Baeckea staminosa
''Baeckea staminosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of and is found in wetlands in the Geraldton Sand ...
Baeckea uncinella
''Baeckea uncinella'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south coast of Western Australia. It is a shrub with narrowly egg-shaped to linear leaves and small white flowers with seven to thirteen stamen ...
'' Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Baeckea utilis
''Baeckea utilis'', commonly known as mountain baeckea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is a shrub with elliptic to lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towar ...
'' F.Muell. ex Miq. – mountain baeckea (N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic.)