Backhousia | |
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Backhousia citriodora foliage and flowers | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Myrtales |
Family: | Myrtaceae |
Subfamily: | Myrtoideae |
Tribe: | Backhousieae |
Genus: | Backhousia Hook. & Harv.[1][2] |
Synonyms | |
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Backhousia is a genus of thirteen currently known species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae.[1][2] All the currently known species are endemic to Australia in the rainforests and seasonally dry forests of Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.[2][3]
In 1845 in the European science publication the Botanical Magazine William Jackson Hooker and William Henry Harvey first published this genus's formal description and name, after botanist James Backhouse from England and Australia.[1][2]
They grow to aromatic shrubs or trees from 5 to 25 m (20 to 80 ft) tall, with leaves 3–12 cm (1.2–4.7 in) long and 1–6 cm (0.4–2.4 in) wide, arranged opposite to each other.