Babingtonia peteriana (Myrtaceae: Chamelaucieae), an ornate novelty from south-western Australia

Abstract

The new species of Myrtaceae tribe Chamelaucieae DC. that is described below is very distinctive, having a mass of long projections on the outside of its flowers and densely papillose-warty stems. It was discovered in October 1952 by Charles Gardner, who assigned the manuscript name Baeckea moschata C.A.Gardner to his collection and made five sketches of the highly ornate flowers (on PERTH 06796532). However, overwhelmed by the large number of unnamed species known at that time, Gardner never formally published this species, which later became known as B. sp. Three Springs (M.E. Trudgen 5368).