# Eriostemon

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{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Eriostemon australasius Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park.jpg
| image_caption = ''[Eriostemon australasius](/source/Eriostemon_australasius)'' at [Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park](/source/Ku-ring-gai_Chase_National_Park)
| taxon = Eriostemon
| authority = [Sm.](/source/James_Edward_Smith_(botanist))<ref name=APC>{{cite web|title=''Eriostemon''|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/63420|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = 
*''[Eriostemon australasius](/source/Eriostemon_australasius)''
*''[Eriostemon banksii](/source/Eriostemon_banksii)''
}}

'''''Eriostemon''''' is a [genus](/source/genus) of [flowering plant](/source/flowering_plant)s of the family [Rutaceae](/source/Rutaceae).  It is native to eastern Australia and includes just two species,  ''[E. australasius](/source/Eriostemon_australasius)'' and ''[E. banksii](/source/Eriostemon_banksii)''. ''Eriostemon australasius'', commonly known as '''pink wax flower''',  occurs between [Fraser Island](/source/Fraser_Island) and [Nowra](/source/Nowra%2C_New_South_Wales) and is a shrub of heathlands and low open woodlands. ''Eriostemon banksii'' is endemic to [Cape York Peninsula](/source/Cape_York_Peninsula) and is a shrub or small tree occurring in heathland and [rainforest](/source/rainforest) margins.

==Description==
Plants in the genus ''Eriostemon'' are shrubs or small trees which have their thinnest branches, leaves and [petal](/source/petal)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 {{convert|17-80|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|5-17|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and have three or five main veins. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils, and about {{convert|12-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} in diameter. There are five separate [sepal](/source/sepal)s and five petals with their edges overlapping. There are ten [stamen](/source/stamen)s, all with hairy [filaments](/source/stamen).<ref name="RBGS">{{cite web|last1=Weston|first1=Peter H.|title=Genus ''Eriostemon''|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&showsyn=&dist=&constat=&lvl=gn&name=Eriostemon|publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantnet|access-date=25 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="RFK">{{cite web |author1=F.A.Zich |author2=B.P.M.Hyland |author3=T.Whiffen |author4=R.A.Kerrigan |author2-link=Bernard Hyland |year=2020 |access-date=19 June 2021 |url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/Eriostemon_banksii.htm |title=''Eriostemon banksii'' |website=[Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants](/source/Australian_Tropical_Rainforest_Plants) Edition 8 (RFK8) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), [Australian Government](/source/Australian_Government)}}</ref>

==Taxonomy and naming==
The genus ''Eriostemon'' was first formally described in 1798 by [James Edward Smith](/source/James_Edward_Smith_(botanist)) but he did not nominate a [type species](/source/type_species). The description was published in ''[Transactions of the Linnean Society of London](/source/Linnean_Society_of_London)''. ''Eriostemon australasius'' was nominated as the [lectotype](/source/Type_(biology)) by [Paul Wilson](/source/Paul_G._Wilson) in 1978.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Eriostemon''|url=https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/469428|publisher=APNI|access-date=25 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="Sm.">{{cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=James Edward|title=The Characters of Twenty New Genera of Plants|journal=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London|date=1798|volume=4|page=221|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/13714#page/247/mode/1up|access-date=25 October 2016}}</ref> The genus name (''Eriostemon'') is derived from the [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) words ''erion'' meaning "wool"<ref name="RWB">{{cite book|last1=Brown|author-link1=Roland W. Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>{{rp|864}} and ''stemon'' meaning "stamen"<ref name="RWB" />{{rp|747}} referring to the woolly stamens.<ref name=APNI(2)>{{cite web|title=''Eriostemon''|url=https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/765449|publisher=APNI|access-date=25 October 2015}}</ref>

A large number of species once classified within the genus have been placed in the newer genus ''[Philotheca](/source/Philotheca)'' including ''Eriostemon verrucosus'' (now ''[Philotheca verrucosa](/source/Philotheca_verrucosa)''),  ''E. myoporoides'' (''[Philotheca myoporoides](/source/Philotheca_myoporoides)'') and ''E. buxifolius'' (''[Philotheca buxifolia](/source/Philotheca_buxifolia)''). The only two species currently included are ''[E. australasius](/source/Eriostemon_australasius)'' and ''[E. banksii](/source/Eriostemon_banksii)''.<ref name="ASB">{{cite journal|last1=Bayly|first1=Michael J.|last2=Brophy|first2=Joseph J.|last3=Forster|first3=Paul I.|last4=Goldsack|first4=Robert J.|last5=Wilson|first5=Paul G.|title=Reinstatement of Eriostemon banksii (Rutaceae), with a Report on the Composition of Leaf Essential Oils in E. banksii and E. australasius s. str.|journal=Australian Systematic Botany|date=1998|volume=11|issue=1|pages=13–22|doi=10.1071/SB96010}}</ref><ref name="ANPSA">{{cite web|last1=Bayly|first1=Michael|title=A name change for most Eriostemons|url=http://anpsa.org.au/APOL13/mar99-3.html|publisher=Australian Native Plants Society Australia|access-date=24 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="Nuytsia">{{cite journal|last1=Wilson|first1=Paul G.|title=A taxonomic review of the genera ''Eriostemon'' and ''Philotheca'' (Boronieae: Rutaceae)|journal=Nuytsia|date=1998|volume=12|issue=2|pages=239–265|doi=10.58828/nuy00300 }}</ref>

==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.<ref name="ANPSA(2)">{{cite web|title=''Eriostemon australasius''|url=http://anpsa.org.au/e-aus.html|publisher=Australian Native Plants Society Australia|access-date=25 October 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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Category:Zanthoxyloideae
Category:Zanthoxyloideae genera

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eriostemon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriostemon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriostemon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.