''Philotheca'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about fifty species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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

. Plants in this genus are shrubs with simple leaves arranged alternately along the stems, flowers that usually have 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 that curve inwards over the

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

. All species are

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 and there are species in every state, but not the Northern Territory.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Philotheca'' are shrubs that are either

glabrous Glabrousness () 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 of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

or have tiny, simple hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems, narrow oblong to almost cylindrical and sessile or on a very short

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

. From a single to many flowers are arranged 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 or on the ends of the branchlets. The flowers have five sepals and five petals (except in '' P. virgata'' which has four). The sepals are free from each other and the petals usually overlap at their bases. There are ten stamens that curve inwards over the ovary with

anthers 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 filamen ...

that have an appendage called the "apiculum". The ovary contains 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) ...

fused near their bases. The seeds are long and are released explosively from their capsule.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Philotheca'' was first formally described in 1816 by

Edward Rudge Edward Rudge (27 June 1763 – 3 September 1846) was an English botanist and antiquary. Life He was the son of Edward Rudge, a merchant and alderman of Salisbury, who possessed a large portion of the abbey estate at Evesham. He matriculated ...

from a specimen collected near

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

and 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 collec ...

''. The first species Rudge described was ''P. australis'' but this name is considered a

nomen illegitimum ''Nomen illegitimum'' (Latin for illegitimate name) is a technical term used mainly in botany. It is usually abbreviated as ''nom. illeg.'' Although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants uses Latin terms as qualif ...

and a

taxonomic synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The Botanical nomenclature, botanical and Zoological nomenclature, zoological codes of nomencl ...

of ''

Philotheca salsolifolia ''Philotheca salsolifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is a shrub with crowded, more or less cylindrical leaves and pink to mauve flowers ...

'' 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 ...

. The name ''Philotheca'' should have been written ''Psilotheca'' after the

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

words ''psilos'' meaning "bare", "smooth", "bald" or "naked" and ''theke'' meaning "case", "container", "envelope" or "sheath", referring to "the smooth tube of the stamens". Many plants formerly in '' Eriostemon'' are now in this genus.

Distribution

Plants in the genus ''Philotheca'' are found in every state of Australia, but not in the Northern Territory.

Species

The following is a list of ''Philotheca'' species accepted by the

as at April 2019: *'' Philotheca acrolopha'' Paul G.Wilson (Qld.) *'' Philotheca angustifolia'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson – narrow-leaf wax flower **''Philotheca angustifolia'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''angustifolia'' (Vic., S.A.) **''Philotheca angustifolia'' subsp. ''montana'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson (Vic.) *'' Philotheca apiculata'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca basistyla'' Mollemans (W.A.) *'' Philotheca brevifolia'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G. Wilson (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca brucei'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) **''Philotheca brucei'' subsp. ''brevifolia'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson **''Philotheca brucei'' (F.Muell.) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''brucei'' **''Philotheca brucei'' subsp. ''cinerea'' (Paul G. Wilson) Paul G. Wilson *''

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. ...

'' (Sm.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) **''Philotheca buxifolia'' (Sm.) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''buxifolia'' – box-leaf wax flower **''Philotheca buxifolia'' subsp. ''falcata'' Paul G. Wilson **''Philotheca buxifolia'' subsp. ''obovata'' (G.Don) Paul G. Wilson *'' Philotheca ciliata'' Hook. (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca citrina'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca coateana'' Paul G. Wilson (W.A.) *''

Philotheca coccinea ''Philotheca coccinea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with club-shaped leaves that are warty on the lower surface, and red to pink flowers arranged singly in leaf axi ...

'' (C.A.Gardner) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *''

Philotheca conduplicata ''Philotheca conduplicata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with elliptical leaves clustered near the ends of the branchlets and white flowers arranged singly or in two ...

'' (Paul G. Wilson) P.I.Forst. (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca cuticularis'' Paul G. Wilson (Qld.) *'' Philotheca cymbiformis'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca deserti'' (E. Pritzel) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) **''Philotheca deserti'' subsp. ''brevifolia'' Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca deserti'' (E.Pritz.) Paul G.Wilson subsp. ''deserti'' *'' Philotheca difformis'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca difformis'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''difformis'' – small-leaf wax-flower (Qld., N.S.W., Vic., S.A.) **''Philotheca difformis'' subsp. ''smithiana'' (Benth.) Paul G. Wilson (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca epilosa'' (Paul G. Wilson) P.I.Forst. (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca eremicola'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca ericifolia'' (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca falcata'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca fitzgeraldii'' (C.R.P.Andrews) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca freyciana'' Rozefelds (Tas.) *'' Philotheca gardneri'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) **''Philotheca gardneri'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G. Wilson subsp. ''gardneri'' **''Philotheca gardneri'' subsp. ''globosa'' Paul G. Wilson *'' Philotheca glabra'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca glasshousiensis'' (Domin) P.I.Forst. (Qld.) *'' Philotheca hispidula'' (Sieber ex Spreng.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca kalbarriensis'' Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca langei'' Mollemans (W.A.) *'' Philotheca linearis'' (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A., S.A., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca myoporoides'' (DC.) M.J.Bayly ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' subsp. ''acuta'' (Blakely) Bayly (N.S.W.) ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' subsp. ''brevipedunculata'' Bayly (N.S.W.) ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' subsp. ''euroensis'' Bayly (Vic.) ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' (DC.) Bayly subsp. ''myoporoides'' (N.S.W., Vic.) ** ''Philotheca myoporoides'' subsp. ''petraea'' Rozefelds (Vic.) *'' Philotheca nodiflora'' (Lindl.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) **''Philotheca nodiflora'' subsp. ''calycina'' (Turcz.) Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca nodiflora'' subsp. ''lasiocalyx'' (Domin) Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca nodiflora'' subsp. ''latericola'' Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca nodiflora'' (Lindl.) Paul G.Wilson subsp. ''nodiflora'' *'' Philotheca nutans'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca obovalis'' (A.Cunn.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca obovatifolia'' (Bayly) P.I.Forst. (Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca pachyphylla'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca papillata'' I.Telford & L.M.Copel. (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca pinoides'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca pungens'' (Lindl.) Paul G.Wilson — prickly waxflower (Vic., S.A.) *'' Philotheca queenslandica'' (C.T.White) P.I.Forst. (Qld.) *'' Philotheca reichenbachii'' Sieber ex Spreng. (N.S.W.) *'' Philotheca rhomboidea'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *''

'' (Sm.) Druce (N.S.W., A.C.T.) **''Philotheca salsolifolia'' subsp. ''pedicellata'' Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca salsolifolia'' (Sm.) Druce subsp. ''salsolifolia'' *'' Philotheca scabra'' (Paxton) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W.) **''Philotheca scabra'' subsp. ''latifolia'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson **''Philotheca scabra'' (Paxton) Paul G.Wilson subsp. ''scabra'' *'' Philotheca sericea'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca spicata'' (A.Rich.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca sporadica'' (M.J.Bayly) Paul G.Wilson (Qld.) *'' Philotheca thryptomenoides'' (S.Moore) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca tomentella'' (Diels) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *'' Philotheca trachyphylla'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W., Vic.) *'' Philotheca tubiflora'' A.S.George (W.A.) *'' Philotheca verrucosa'' (A.Rich.) Paul G.Wilson (Vic., S.A., Tas.) *''

Philotheca virgata ''Philotheca virgata'', commonly known as Tasmanian wax-flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is Endemism, endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a slender, erect shrub with wedge-shaped to oblong leaves and ...

'' (Hook.f.) Paul G.Wilson (N.S.W., Vic., Tas.) *'' Philotheca wonganensis'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7186291 Zanthoxyloideae genera