Starflowers {Calytrix) - Diversity and Identification Guide

摘要

Francis is currently undertaking a PhD on plant systematics at the University of Adelaide, with a focus on a few case study groups of the Australian temperate flora. His project focuses on the discovery of new species, evolution of the Australian temperate flora, and mechanisms that drive their diversification.The Australian native starflowers (Calytrix; Myrtaceae) is a diverse genus with over 90 species, all of which are endemic to Australia. Craven (1987b) completed a taxonomic revision of the genus, following which additional new species have been describedby various authors (Craven, 1990, 1991; Keighery, 2004; Barrett et al., 2009; Rye, 2013; Nge et al., 2017). The majority of the species are found across temperate Australia, most of which are endemic to the southwest Western Australian biodiversity hotspot. A wide range of floral and leaf morphology is evident across the different species within the genus (Fig. 1). The majority of Calytrix species are small to medium shrubs, a few species grow into small to large trees (e.g. C. exstipulata and its allies in northern Australia).