Asteromyrtus Explained

Asteromyrtus is a genus of flowering plants in the Myrtaceae family. It is closely related to Callistemon and Melaleuca.

History

Asteromyrtus was described as a genus in 1843.^{[1] [2]} The genus was subsequently subsumed into Melaleuca and Sinoga, but was reinstated by Lyndley Craven in 1988^[3] to accommodate seven species, all of which are tropical shrubs or small trees^[4] native to New Guinea, Maluku, or northern Australia,^[5] in lands peripheral to the Arafura Sea, Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait.

Species^[6]

1. Asteromyrtus angustifolia (Gaertn.) Craven - n Queensland
2. Asteromyrtus arnhemica (Byrnes) Craven - n Northern Territory, n Western Australia
3. Asteromyrtus brassii (Byrnes) Craven - s New Guinea, n Queensland
4. Asteromyrtus lysicephala (F.Muell. & F.M.Bailey) Craven - Aru Islands, s New Guinea, n Queensland
5. Asteromyrtus magnifica (Specht) Craven - n Northern Territory, Groote Eylandt
6. Asteromyrtus symphyocarpa (F.Muell.) Craven  - Liniment Tree - s New Guinea, n Queensland, n Northern Territory
7. Asteromyrtus tranganensis Craven - Aru Islands

Notes and References

1. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/107035#page/248/mode/1up Schauer, Johannes Conrad. 1843. Linnaea 17: 242-243.
2. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40021453 Tropicos, Asteromyrtus Schauer
3. Craven . L.A. . 1988 . Reinstatement and revision of Asteromyrtus (Myrtaceae). Australian Systematic Botany . 1 . 4 . 373–385 . 10.1071/SB9880373.
4. Book: Brophy . J.J. . Doran . J.C. . 1996 . Essential Oils of Tropical Asteromyrtus, Callistemon and Melaleuca Species. ACIAR Monograph . 40 . Canberra . Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research . 1-86320-189-0.
5. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=17432 Asteromyrtus.
6. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do?plantName=Asteromyrtus&page=quickSearch Asteromyrtus species list.