Brachyloma preissii - Flickr - jeans Photos

''Brachyloma'' is a genus of about 16 species of flowering plants in the family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

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 Australia. Plants in the genus ''Brachyloma'' are shrubs with more or less erect leaves and

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 ...

flowers usually arranged singly in leaf axils, the 5 petals fused to form a cylindrical or bell-shaped tube, the

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 sometimes enclosed in the petal tube.

Description

Plant in the genus ''Brachyloma'' are erect or spreading 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 ...

, sessile or shortly petiolate leaves with more or less parallel or spreading veins on the lower surface. The flowers are bisexual and usually arranged singly in leaf axils, each flower with a

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

at the base and bracteoles grading to the size of the 5

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. The 5 petals are fused at the base to form a cylindrical to bulbous, bell-shaped tube with erect to curved-back lobes. The fruit is a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

with a hard

endocarp Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Fruitlike structures may develop directly from the seed itself rather th ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Brachyloma'' was first formally described in 1845 by Otto Wilhelm Sonder in Lehmnn's '' Plantae Preissianae'' and the first species he described (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) was '' Brachyloma preissii''.

Species list

The following is a list of ''Brachyloma'' species 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 10 September 2023: * '' Brachyloma baxteri'' (

A.Cunn. Allan Cunningham (13 July 1791 – 27 June 1839) was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his expeditions into uncolonised areas of eastern Australia to collect plants and report on the suitability of the land for grazing ...

ex DC.) Puente-Lel. (W.A.) * '' Brachyloma ciliatum'' ( R.Br.)

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 ...

– fringed brachyloma, fringed daphne heath (Vic., Tas.) * '' Brachyloma daphnoides'' ( Sm.) Benth. - daphne heath (S.A., Vic, N.S.W., Qld.) * '' Brachyloma delbi'' Cranfield (W.A.) * '' Brachyloma depressum'' ( F.Muell.) Benth. – spreading brachyloma, spreading heath (Vic., Tas.) * '' Brachyloma djerral'' Cranfield & Hislop (W.A.) * '' Brachyloma elusum'' Hislop & Cranfield (W.A.) * '' Brachyloma ericoides'' (

Schltdl. Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (27 November 1794, Xanten – 12 October 1866, Halle an der Saale, Halle) was a German botanist. Life and work Von Schlechtendal was born in Xanten, Xanten am Rhein and when his father Diederich Fried ...

) Sond. (Vic., S.A.) * '' Brachyloma geissoloma'' (F.Muell.) Cranfield (W.A.) * '' Brachyloma mogin'' Cranfield (W.A.) * '' Brachyloma nguba'' Cranfield (W.A.) * ''

Brachyloma pirara ''Brachyloma pirara'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic a restricted area in the west of Western Australia. It is an erect, compact shrub with sharply-pointed, linear to narrowly egg-shaped or narrowly ellipt ...

'' Cranfield & Hislop (W.A.) * '' Brachyloma preissii'' Sond. (W.A.) * '' Brachyloma saxicola'' J.T.Hunter (N.S.W.) * '' Brachyloma scortechinii'' F.Muell. (Qld., N.S.W.) * ''

Brachyloma stenolobum ''Brachyloma stenolobum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to a restricted area in the west of Western Australia. It is an erect, compact shrub with narrowly elliptic or elliptic leaves, and white, tube-shap ...

'' Hislop & Cranfield (W.A.)

Distribution

Species of ''Brachyloma'' occur in all Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory, but not the Northern Territory.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1937459 Epacridoideae Ericaceae genera Taxa named by Otto Wilhelm Sonder