Billardiera

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.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

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.[8][9] The name, Billardiera honours Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière.[9]

Species list

The following is a list of species of Billardiera accepted by the Australian Plant Census as of May 2023:[10]

• 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.)

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