Family:	Myrtaceae
	Distribution:	Forests and woodland from the cental coast of New south Wales to south-east Queensland.
	Common Name:	No generally accepted common name.
	Derivation of Name:	Babingtonia; Derivation uncertain. similis; From Latin similis, like or similar to, presumably a reference to similarity to other babingtonia species.
	Conservation Status:	Not considered to be at risk in the wild.

General Description:

George Bentham in 1867 established a broad concept for the genus Baeckea but in recent years studies have shown that, because of differences in the group, many Baeckea species should be placed into other genera, including Ochrosperma, Triplarina, Babingtonia, and Euryomyrtus. In 1997, A.R. Bean reinstated and revised the genus Babingtonia to include a large number of species formerly classified under Baeckea. One consequence of this was a re-assessment of the status of the species formerly known as Baeckea virgata, now Babingtonia virgata. This species is now regarded as being restricted to New Caledonia and Australian species formerly known as B.virgata are now allocated to other species in the genus Babingtonia. One of these species is Babingtonia similis.

Further information on the Australian Babingtonia species formerly allocated to Baeckea virgata can be found in the article "When is a Baeckea not a Baeckea".

B.similis is a shrub to about 2 metres high, often rounded and compact in habit. The leaves are 9 - 17 mm long, linear to elliptical in shape. The small tea tree-like flowers are about 5 mm in diameter, white in colour and occur in groups of about 3 from the leaf axils towards the ends of the branches. Flowering occurs in late spring to late summer.

This species is probably best known in cultivation though several low growing cultivars (eg. Howie's 'Feathertips'). These are all hardy plants, suited to light or heavy soils as long as drainage is reasonable. They grow best in full sun to dappled shade and are tolerant of at least moderate frost.

Seed of most Babingtonia species germinates well without pretreatment and B.similis is probably no exception. Seed, however, is difficult to collect as it is released from the small seed capsules when ripe. Cuttings of firm, current season's growth strike readily. Named cultivars should only be propagated from cuttings to ensure the characteristics of the parent plants are retained.