Calomeria is a plant genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 with a single species Calomeria amaranthoides (Incense Plant) which is native to New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Other species which were formerly included in this genus have been reassigned to other genera including Basedowia

Basedowia

Basedowia is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family....

, Cassinia

Cassinia

Cassinia is a large genus of plants in the family Asteraceae, most or all of which are native to the Southern Hemisphere. It was named for French botanist Alexandre de Cassini.Species include:*Cassinia accipitrum Orchard...

, Helichrysum, Humeocline

Humeocline

Humeocline is a genus of the botanical family Asteraceae, which is endemic of Madagascar.-External links:*...

and Thiseltonia

Thiseltonia

Thiseltonia is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family....

.

Description

Calomeria amaranthoides is a tall, fragrant biennial herb, growing to 3.5 metres in height. It has sticky stems and leaves which are green above and whitish beneath and are up to 15 cm long and 5 cm wide. Its flowers appear in large brown to red plumes in the summer (January to April in its native range).

Taxonomy

The genus was first formally described by E.P. Ventenat in Jardin de la Malmaison in 1804.