Alloxylon

taxobox
name = "Alloxylon"

---

image_caption = "A. flammeum",
Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
ordo = Proteales
familia = Proteaceae
genus = "Alloxylon"
genus_authority = P.H.Weston & Crisp
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.|

"Alloxylon" is a genus of 5 species in the Proteaceae family of mainly small to medium-sized trees. They are native to the eastern coast of Australia, with one species, "A. brachycarpum" found in New Guinea and the Aru Islands. The genus is a relatively new creation, being split off from "Oreocallis". The name is derived from Classical Greek "allo-" "other" or "strange" and "xylon" or "wood" due to their unusual cell architecture compared with the related genera "Telopea" and "Oreocallis". In Australia, they are known as tree waratahs due to similarities in the inflorescences between them and the closely-related "Telopea".

Classification

Together with "Telopea", "Oreocallis" and "Embothrium", "Alloxylon" makes up a small group of terminal often red-flowering showy plants scattered around the southern edges of the Pacific Rim. Known as the Embothriinae, this is an ancient group with roots in the mid Cretaceous, when Australia, Antarctica and South America were linked by land.

Cultivation

They are grown for their incredibly showy flowers. Their large size and, in some cases, lengthy time to flower from seed, has limited their availability as garden plants. However "Alloxylon flammeum" has proven adaptable and hardy, while the others are more exacting in their requirements. All do best in a well drained soil rich in organic material but low in phosphoruswith some shelter when small.

pecies

* "Alloxylon brachycarpum"
* "Alloxylon flammeum" (previously "Oreocallis wickhamii") (type)
* "Alloxylon pinnatum"
* "Alloxylon wickhamii"

References

*

External links

* [http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/HerbLink/multimedia/4/101/003643.jpgPhoto of A. pinnatum in flower]