familyMyrtaceae
genusChamelaucium
Show Lower Taxa
Chamelaucium
Mém. Mus. Hist. Nat. 5: 39, plate 3, fig. B, plate 4. 1819.
Common names: Waxflower
Etymology: Derivation uncertain possibly Greek chamai, dwarf, and lauchis, poplar, alluding to flower or kamelaukion, headdress of medieval Popes, alluding to form of calyptra
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 10.
Shrubs, glabrous. Leaves decussate; blade venation inconspicuous. Inflorescences 1-flowered, axillary, flowers solitary in corymbose clusters. Flowers 5-merous, sessile or pedicellate; hypanthium obconic to cylindric-obconic, prolonged and bowl-like beyond ovary summit; perianth parts distinct; petals white, pink, or purple, [yellow]; stamens ca. 10, about as long as perianth, equal number of staminodes sometimes present; ovary 1-locular; style equal to or longer than stamens, with a ring of hairs just below stigma; ovules 4–8. Fruits nutlike. Seed 1, winged or not. x = 11.
Distribution
Introduced; California, Australia.
Discussion
Species ca. 13 (1 in the flora).
Selected References
None.