Greek leukon—white, pogon—beard; referring to the white-bearded flower lobes in some species.
Shrubs or small trees. Branchlets with or without hair. Leaves usually same colour on both surfaces, tips whiskered or with a callus, sometimes stalked. Flower spikes solitary or in clusters. Floral tube usually shorter than the lobes (which are edge-to-edge in bud), often with hairs at the mouth sometimes directed down the tube. Stamen filaments thin, attached at the throat. Ovary with 2-5 chambers, 1 ovule in each. Fruit a drupe.
Cuttings but difficult.
Fruit of some species is edible.
About 230 species from Australia (c.200 species), New Zealand, Malesia, Indo-China and Pacific Islands.
Leaves same colour on both surfaces; flower white or pink, the lobes often with many hairs.
Source: (1997). Epacridaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
