Swamp baeckea
Baeckea linifolia in Limeburners Creek National Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Baeckea
Species:
B. linifolia
Binomial name
Baeckea linifolia
Synonyms[1]

Baeckea linifolia Rudge f. linifolia
Baeckea linifolia Rudge var. linifolia
Baeckea trichophylla Sieber ex Spreng.
Baeckea linifolia var. brevifolia F.Muell. ex Benth.
Baeckea linifolia f. trichophylla (Sieber ex Spreng.) Domin
Baeckea linifolia var. brevifolia Ewart nom. illeg.

Baeckea linifolia, commonly known as swamp baeckea,[2] weeping baeckea[3] or flax-leaf heath myrtle,[4] is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with linear leaves and small white flowers with eight to fifteen stamens.

Description

Baeckea linifolia is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) and has branches with drooping tips. The leaves are linear to more or less cylindrical, 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) long and taper at both ends. The flowers are up to 5 mm (0.20 in) wide and arranged singly in leaf axils, each flower on a pedicel 1.5–2.0 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long with two linear bracteoles at the base, but that fall off as the flower opens. The sepal lobes are triangular and the petals are egg-shaped, white and 1.5–2.5 mm (0.059–0.098 in) long. There are eight to fifteen stamens with curved filaments, none of which is opposite the petals. The flat-topped ovary has two cells. Flowering occurs in most months, especially in spring and summer, and the fruit is a cup-like capsule about 2 mm (0.079 in) in diameter, containing angular seeds.[2][3][4][5][6]

Taxonomy and naming

Baeckea linifolia was first formally described in 1807 by Edward Rudge in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London from a specimen collected "near Port Jackson".[7][8] The specific epithet (linifolia) is derived from the Latin words linum ("flax") and folium ("leaf"),[9] giving a compound Latin adjective which describes the plant as having leaves like those of flax.[10]

Distribution and habitat

Swamp baeckea grows in heath in damp places, often near waterfalls and gullies and is found along the coast and adjacent ranges from south-east Queensland through New South Wales to the Cann River in north-eastern Victoria where it is rare.[3][5]

Victorian plants typically have smaller, more rigid leaves in comparison with plants found in New South Wales and Queensland, and were previously included in Baeckea linifolia var. brevifolia F.Muell. ex Benth.[5]

Use in horticulture

This baeckea is reasonably well known in gardens and is a hardy plant in well-drained soil in a sunny or part-shaped situation. Once established it is moderately frost- and drought-tolerant.[3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Baeckea linifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 Fairley, A. & Moore, P. (2010) Field Guide to the Native Plants of the Sydney Region, ISBN 9781741755718 page 276. Allen and Unwin.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Wilson, P.G. (1997) PlantNET: Baeckea linifolia. National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, Australia.] Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "Baeckea linifolia". Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 VicFlora: Baeckea linifolia. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation Victoria. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  6. ↑ Robinson, Les (1991). Field guide to the native plants of Sydney. Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 25. ISBN 0864171927.
  7. ↑ "Baeckea linifolia". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  8. ↑ Rudge, Edward (1807). "Seven new species of plants from New Holland". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 8: 297. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  9. ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 485,340.
  10. ↑ Backer, C.A. (1936). Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs).
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