''Chamelaucium uncinatum'', the Geraldton waxflower, Geraldton wax, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

endemic to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. It is an erect shrub 0.5 to 4m high, bearing white or pink flowers June–November. The name ''uncinatum'' means "hooked" in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

, in reference to the tips of the leaves. The flowers (somewhat resembling those of the tea tree) last a relatively long time after cutting, making the plant popular in

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. It is widely cultivated throughout Australia, both in home gardens and in the cut flower industry. Purple-flowering cultivars have been developed.

Cultivation

Geraldton Wax is relatively hardy and fairly easy to grow in a Mediterranean climate with well-drained sandy soil and a sunny aspect. It can be grown in areas of higher humidity, such as Sydney, but tends to be short lived. It is also good in pots. It has the tendency to 'fall over' and may need support. It is very drought-tolerant and has aromatic leaves. The hardy characteristics have led to its use as a root stock species for grafting species of the closely related featherflowers of genus ''

Verticordia :For the clam genus, see ''Verticordia'' (bivalve). ''Verticordia'' is a genus of more than 100 species of plants commonly known as featherflowers, in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. They range in form from very small shrubs such as '' V. verti ...

''.

Varieties

Many varieties are commercially available, named both for colour and for early/late flowering times. In the wild, Geraldton wax is most commonly white with varying tinges of mauve. The deeper purple forms (''pictured below'') are selected varieties propagated commercially: *''Chamelaucium'' "Early Purple" *''Chamelaucium'' "Purple Pride" The leaves of Geraldton wax plants can be used in a similar way to rosemary leaves in cooking, as a flavoring agent. The flavor of Geraldton wax leaves is basically citrus, comparable to lemon myrtle (another Australian native plant) or Kaffir lime. The leaves can be infused in oil to add a lemon-like flavor, or added to a stock, or sauce. It can also be used to add citrus notes to gin, or other distilled spirits.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q470993 uncinatum