Kingdom Plantae Family Rutaceae Rank Species | Order Sapindales Genus Philotheca | |
Philotheca pungens, commonly known as prickly waxflower, is a shrub in the family Rutaceae. The species is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is usually up to 60 cm high and produces white flowers from September to November in its native range.
The species was discovered by explorer Thomas Livingstone Mitchell in 1836 when he ascended Mount Hope in northern Victoria. Mitchell described the plant as "a remarkable new species of Eriostemon forming a scrubby spiny bush, with much the appearance of a Leptospermum". It was formally described in 1838 by botanist John Lindley, his description published in Mitchell's Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia . Lindley gave it the name Eriostemon pungens. In 1863 botanist George Bentham placed the species in the genus Phebalium. In 1998 it was placed in the genus Philotheca.
Associated tree species include Eucalyptus leptophylla and Eucalyptus incrassata.