''Stenanthera'' 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Most are low shrubs with leaves that are paler on the lower surface, tube-shaped flowers and with the fruit 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 ...

. There are three species, formerly included in the genus ''

Astroloma ''Astroloma'' is a historically recognised genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae and endemic to Australia. The genus was first described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae''. Pla ...

''.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Stenanthera'' are mainly low shrubs with leaves that are paler on the lower surface where the veins are almost parallel to

palmate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets ...

. The flowers are borne 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 and have both male and female organs. There are

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 ...

s and

bracteoles 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 look ...

and the base of the flower and the

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 are joined to form a more or less cylindrical tube. The petal lobes are triangular to egg-shaped and erect or turned backwards, usually with hairs on the inner side. The

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 ...

protrude from the petal tube but are hidden by the petal lobes. The

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

is thread-like and equal in length to, or longer than the petal tube. The fruit is a drupe 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 and naming

The genus ''Stenanthera'' was first formally described in 1810 by

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

in ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a book by the botanist Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and ...

''. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...

is '' S. pinifolia''. In 1868,

George Bentham 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 ...

transferred the genus to ''

'' as ''Astroloma'' sect. ''Stenanthera'' in ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume Flora of Australia published b ...

'' but following genetic studies in 2013, the genus ''Stenanthera'' was resurrected. The name of the genus comes from

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 meaning "narrow" and "flower".

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

'' accepts four species. ''Stenanthera pungens'' is 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 ...

, and treated as a synonym of ''Conostephium pungens'' by ''Plants of the World Online''. * '' Stenanthera conostephioides'' Sonder – flame heath – South Australia and Victoria * '' Stenanthera lacsalaria'' – south Western Australia * ''

Stenanthera localis ''Stenanthera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (taxonomy), family Ericaceae. Most are low shrubs with leaves that are paler on the lower surface, tube-shaped flowers and with the fruit a drupe. There are three species, formerly incl ...

'' – south-southwestern Western Australia * '' Stenanthera pinifolia'' R.Br – pine heath – New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania * '' Stenanthera pungens'' ( Keighery) Hislop – Western Australia

Distribution

''Stenanthera'' species are found south-western Western Australia and in south-eastern Australia.

Use in horticulture

Stenantheras are difficult to grow and maintain in a garden but '' S. pinifolia'' can be propagated from cuttings and grown in well-drained soil in a semi-shaded position.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6133982 Ericaceae genera Endemic flora of Australia Taxa described in 1810 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)