Billardiera
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Through Endemism, Leaf and Inflorescence
Description
Plants in the genus Billardiera are woody scramblers, climbers or undershrubs with twining branches up to several metres long. The leaves are simple, elliptic, lance-shaped or linear and arranged alternately along the stems. The flowers are arranged singly or in cymes on the ends of branches and are greenish-yellow to cream-coloured, purple or blue, the sepals free from each other. The five petals are much longer than the sepals, sometimes free from each other, or joined at the base to form a tube with spreading lobes. The stamens are free from each other, but sometimes have their anthers joined at the tip, encircling the style. The fruit is a succulent or fleshy, variously shaped berry containing many seeds.
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Taxonomy
The genus Billardiera was first formally described in 1793 by James Edward Smith in his book A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland, and the first species he described (the type species) was Billardiera scandens. The name, Billardiera honours Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière.
Species list
The following is a list of species of Billardiera accepted by the Australian Plant Census as of May 2023:
- Billardiera coriacea Benth. (W.A.)
- Billardiera cymosa F.Muell. (S.A., Vic.)
- Billardiera drummondii (C.Morren) L.Cayzer & Crisp (W.A.)
- Billardiera floribunda (Putt.) F.Muell. – white-flowered billardiera (W.A.)
- Billardiera fraseri (Hook.) L.W.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford – elegant pronaya (W.A.)
- Billardiera fusiformis Labill. – Australian bluebell (Vic., W.A.)
- Billardiera heterophylla (Lindl.) L.W.Cayzer & Crisp – bluebell creeper, purple appleberry, Australian bluebell (W.A.)
- Billardiera laxiflora (Benth.) E.M.Benn. (W.A.)
- Billardiera lehmanniana F.Muell. (W.A.)
- Billardiera longiflora Labill. (Tas.)
- Billardiera macrantha Hook.f. (N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic., Tas.)
- Billardiera mutabilis Salisb. – climbing appleberry (N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic., Tas.)
- Billardiera nesophila L.W.Cayzer & D.L.Jones (Tas.)
- Billardiera ovalis Lindl. (Tas.)
- Billardiera rubens L.W.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford (Qld., N.S.W.)
- Billardiera scandens Sm. - hairy appleberry (S.A., Qld., N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic.)
- Billardiera sericophora F.Muell. (S.A.)
- Billardiera speciosa (Endl.) F.Muell. (W.A.)
- Billardiera uniflora E.M.Benn. (S.A.)
- Billardiera variifolia DC. (W.A.)
- Billardiera venusta (Putt.) L.W.Cayzer & Crisp (W.A.)
- Billardiera versicolor F.Muell. ex Klatt – pale appleberry (S.A., N.S.W., Vic.)
- Billardiera viridiflora L.W.Cayzer & D.L.Jones (Tas.)