Beaufortia (plant)

bottlebrushes
Beaufortia orbifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Beaufortia
R.Br.
Synonyms[1]

Beaufortia is a genus of woody shrubs and small trees in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The genus Beaufortia is closely related to Melaleuca, Calothamnus, Regelia and several others, differing mainly in the way the anthers are attached to the stalks of the stamens, and in the way they open to release their pollen. Beaufortia anthers are attached at one end and open by splitting at the other.[2][3]

Description

Plants in the genus Beaufortia, sometimes commonly known as bottlebrush are evergreen shrubs with very small, glandular, aromatic leaves usually oppositely arranged. The tallest are up to 3 metres in height. Most are andromonoecious, meaning they both male and bisexual flowers on one plant. The flowers are in spikelike or headlike inflorescences. The flower has five triangular sepals and five white, yellow, red, pink, or purple petals, which are sometimes hairy. The stamens are red or deep pink, arranged in five bundles and extend well beyond the petals, giving the inflorescence its colour. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule with three valves, each holding a winged seed.[4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

The first formal description of the genus Beaufortia was published in 1812 by Robert Brown in William Aiton's Hortus Kewensis.[6] It was followed by a description of the first-named species, Beaufortia decussata.[7] The genus was named for the English gardener and botanist Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort.[4] In Curtis's Botanical Magazine it is noted that "her grace possessed a flourishing botanical garden at her seat, at Badminton, in Gloucestershire".[8]

Distribution and habitat

All species of Beaufortia occur in the South West Botanical Province and about half the species also occur in the Eremaean province. They grow in a wide range of soils and vegetation associations.

Conservation

Some species of Beaufortia are common within their range but several, including Beaufortia bicolor are classified as "Priority Three" by the Western Australian government department of parks and wildlife[4] meaning that they are poorly known and known from only a few locations but which are not under imminent threat.[9]

Use in cultivation

All the species of Beaufortia are worth trialling in the garden but few have been grown successfully in eastern Australia. They require full sun and excellent drainge and benefit from being grown over limestone. Grafting onto Kunzea ambigua may also improve the chance of success.[10]

Species list

The following is a list of the 19 species of Beaufortia recognised by the Western Australian Herbarium:[1][11]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beaufortia.
Wikispecies has information related to: Beaufortia
  1. 1 2 Beaufortia. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.
  2. ↑ Rye, Barbara Lynette (2009). "An interim key to the Western Australian tribes and genera of Myrtaceae" (PDF). Nuytsia 19 (2): 313–323. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Fagg, Murray. "Myrtaceae illustrations". Australian National Botanic Garden. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Beaufortia’'". FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia.
  5. ↑ Kubitzki (ed.), Klaus (2010). The families and genera of vascular plants sapindales, cucurbitales, myrtaceae. Heidelberg: Springer. p. 237. ISBN 9783642143977. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Beaufortia". APNI. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Brown, Robert (1812). Hortus Kewensis (2nd ed.). Paternoster Row, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown. p. 418. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  8. ↑ Sims, John (1840). Curtis's Botanical magazine (Vol. XLII). London: Sherwood, Neely and Jones. p. 1733. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. pp. 182–183. ISBN 0002165759.
  11. ↑ "Beaufortia". Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
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