''Eriostemon'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family Rutaceae. It is native to eastern Australia and includes just two species, '' E. australasius'' and '' E. banksii''. ''Eriostemon australasius'', commonly known as pink wax flower, occurs between Fraser Island and Nowra and is a shrub of heathlands and low open woodlands. ''Eriostemon banksii'' is endemic to Cape York Peninsula and is a shrub or small tree occurring in heathland and

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

margins.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Eriostemon'' are shrubs or small trees which have their thinnest branches, leaves and

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s covered with fine star-like hairs (although the hairs may only be visible with a magnifying glass). The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are simple leaves with smooth edges. The leaves are long, wide and have three or five main veins. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s, and about in diameter. There are five separate

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 with their edges overlapping. There are ten

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, all with hairy filaments.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Eriostemon'' was first formally described in 1798 by James Edward Smith but he did not nominate a

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

. The description was published in ''

Transactions of the Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature coll ...

''. ''Eriostemon australasius'' was nominated as the

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...

by Paul Wilson in 1978. The genus name (''Eriostemon'') is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

words ''erion'' meaning "wool" and ''stemon'' meaning "stamen" referring to the woolly stamens. A large number of species once classified within the genus have been placed in the newer genus ''

Philotheca ''Philotheca'' is a genus of about fifty species of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae. Plants in this genus are shrubs with simple leaves arranged alternately along the stems, flowers that usually have five sepals, five petals and ten stam ...

'' including ''Eriostemon verrucosus'' (now ''

Philotheca verrucosa ''Philotheca verrucosa'', commonly known as fairy wax-flower or Bendigo wax-flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a small shrub with prominently glandular-warty branch ...

''), ''E. myoporoides'' (''

Philotheca myoporoides ''Philotheca myoporoides'', commonly known as long-leaf wax flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub with sessile, oblong to egg-shaped, glandular-warty leav ...

'') and ''E. buxifolius'' (''

Philotheca buxifolia ''Philotheca buxifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a shrub with more or less oblong leaves and solitary white to pink flowers arranged singly on the ends of branchlets. ...

''). The only two species currently included are '' E. australasius'' and '' E. banksii''.

Use in horticulture

Pink wax flower is described as being a "very desirable" garden plant, however it is difficult to propagate and to maintain. A semi-shaded position in well-drained soil is regarded as the conditions best suited to the species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2738553 Zanthoxyloideae Zanthoxyloideae genera