Baeckea frutescens | |
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In Belitung, Sumatra | |
Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Myrtales |
Family: | Myrtaceae |
Genus: | Baeckea |
Species: | B. frutescens
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Binomial name | |
Baeckea frutescens | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Baeckea frutescens is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is native to eastern Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia. It is a shrub with arching branches, linear leaves and white flowers with seven to thirteen stamens.
Baeckea frutescens is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and has arching branches. Its leaves are linear and often clustered on short side-branches, 4–10 mm (0.16–0.39 in) long and about 0.5 mm (0.020 in) wide on a petiole 0.5–0.6 mm (0.020–0.024 in) long. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils and are 3.5–5 mm (0.14–0.20 in) wide on a pedicel 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) long. The five sepals are rounded-triangular, the five petals white, more or less round and 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) long, and there are seven to thirteen stamens. Flowering mainly occurs in summer and the fruit is a capsule about 2 mm (0.079 in) in diameter. [2] [3] [4]
Baeckea frutescens was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum. [5] [6] The specific epithet (frutescens) means "becoming bushy or shrubby". [7]
This baeckea grows in heath and open grassland from south-east China to eastern Australia. In Australia it grows in near-coastal areas as far south as Port Macquarie. [2] [3]
This species' tiny leaves and branches make it a popular subject of bonsai. [8]