''Phebalium'' is a genus of thirty species of shrubs or small trees in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

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. The leaves are arranged alternately, simple and often warty, the flowers arranged singly or in

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

s on the ends of branchlets or in leaf

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

s, usually 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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s, five

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s and ten

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. There are about thirty species and they are found in all Australian states but not in the Northern Territory.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Phebalium'' are shrubs or small trees that are often more or less covered with scales or shield-shaped or star-shaped hairs, at least when young. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems, and are simple, sometimes with toothed edges. The flowers are

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 ...

and have five sepals, five petals and ten stamens. The sepals are fused at the base, usually with five lobes, and the stamens are free from each other. There are five

carpels Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ...

with the styles fused and the stigma is similar to the rest of the style. The fruit is a follicle and the seeds are released explosively.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Phebalium'' was first formally described in 1805 by

Étienne Pierre Ventenat Étienne Pierre Ventenat (1 March 1757 – 13 August 1808) was a French botanist born in Limoges. He was the brother of naturalist Louis Ventenat (1765–1794). While employed as director of the ecclesiastic library Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, ...

in his book ''Jardin de la Malmaison''. The first species described was ''

Phebalium squamulosum ''Phebalium squamulosum '', commonly known as scaly phebalium or forest phebalium, is a species of shrub or slender tree that is Endemism, endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth branches covered with rust-coloured scales, linear to elliptic ...

''.

Species list

The following is a list of species and subspecies recognised 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 at June 2020: *'' Phebalium appressum'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Phebalium bifidum'' P.H.Weston & M.Turton (N.S.W.) *'' Phebalium brachycalyx'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Phebalium brevifolium'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Phebalium bullatum'' J.M.Black — silvery phebalium or desert phebalium (S.A., Vic.) *'' Phebalium canaliculatum'' (F.Muell. & Tate) J.H.Willis (W.A.) *'' Phebalium clavatum'' C.A.Gardner (W.A.) *'' Phebalium daviesii'' Hook.f. — St Helens wax flower (Tas.) *'' Phebalium distans'' P.I.Forst. (Qld.) *'' Phebalium drummondii'' Benth. (W.A.) *'' Phebalium elegans'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Phebalium festivum'' Paul G.Wilson (Vic.) *'' Phebalium filifolium'' Turcz. — slender phebalium (W.A.) *'' Phebalium glandulosum'' Hook. — glandular phebalium or desert phebalium **''Phebalium glandulosum'' subsp. ''angustifolium'' Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) **''Phebalium glandulosum'' subsp. ''eglandulosum'' (Blakely) Paul G.Wilson (Qld., N.S.W.) **''Phebalium glandulosum'' Hook. subsp. ''glandulosum'' (S.A., Qld., N.S.W.) **''Phebalium glandulosum'' subsp. ''macrocalyx'' R.L.Giles (Vic.) **''Phebalium glandulosum'' subsp. ''nitidum'' Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) **''Phebalium glandulosum'' subsp. ''riparium'' R.L.Giles (Vic.) *'' Phebalium laevigatum'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Phebalium lepidotum'' (Turcz.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Phebalium longifolium'' S.T.Blake (Qld.) *'' Phebalium lowanense'' J.H.Willis (S.A., Vic.) *'' Phebalium megaphyllum'' (Ewart) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Phebalium microphyllum'' Turcz. (W.A.) *'' Phebalium nottii'' (F.Muell.) Maiden & Betche — pink phebalium (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Phebalium obcordatum'' Benth. — club-leaved phebalium (N.S.W.) *'' Phebalium obovatum'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *''

Phebalium speciosum ''Phebalium speciosum'' is a species of shrub that is Endemism, endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales. It has branchlets covered with rust-coloured scales, lance-shaped to narrow elliptical leaves covered with silvery and rust-coloured ...

'' I.Telford (N.S.W.) *''

'' Vent. — forest phebalium, scaly phebalium **''Phebalium squamulosum'' subsp. ''alpinum'' (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W., Vic.) **''Phebalium squamulosum'' subsp. ''argenteum'' Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W., Vic.) **''Phebalium squamulosum'' subsp. ''coriaceum'' Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) **''Phebalium squamulosum'' subsp. ''gracile'' Paul G.Wilson (Qld., N.S.W.) **''Phebalium squamulosum'' subsp. ''lineare'' Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) **''Phebalium squamulosum'' subsp. ''ozothamnoides'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic.) **''Phebalium squamulosum'' subsp. ''parvifolium'' Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) **''Phebalium squamulosum'' Vent. subsp. ''squamulosum'' R.L.Giles (S.A., Qld., N.S.W., Vic.) *'' Phebalium stenophyllum'' (Benth.) Maiden & Betche — narrow-leaved phebalium (S.A., N.S.W., Vic.) *'' Phebalium tuberculosum'' (F.Muell.) Benth. (W.A.) *'' Phebalium verrucosum'' (Paul G.Wilson) I.Telford & J.J.Bruhl (N.S.W.) *'' Phebalium whitei'' Paul G.Wilson (Qld.) *'' Phebalium woombye'' (F.M.Bailey) Domin (Qld., N.S.W.)

Distribution

Species of ''Phebalium'' occur in all Australian states, but not in the Northern Territory.

References

{{Authority control Zanthoxyloideae genera Taxa named by Étienne Pierre Ventenat