Commersonia corniculata

Commersonia corniculata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Commersonia
Species:	C. corniculata
Binomial name
Commersonia corniculata (Sm.) K.A.Sheph. & C.F.Wilkins [1]
Synonyms [1]
List Commerconia cygnorum F.Muell. orth. var. Commersonia cygnorum Steud. Lasiopetalum corniculatumSm. Restiaria cygnorum(Steud.) Kuntze Ruelingia cygnorum C.A.Gardner orth. var. Ruelingia malvifolia Diels & E.Pritz. orth. var. Rulingia cygnorum(Steud.) C.A.Gardner Rulingia malvaefolia Steetz orth. var. Rulingia malvifoliaSteetz nom. illeg., nom. superfl.

Commersonia corniculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is an erect to prostrate shrub with 3-lobed, egg-shaped leaves, and white to cream-coloured flowers.

Description

Commersonia corniculata is an erect to prostrate shrub that typically grows to 0.3–2 m (1 ft 0 in – 6 ft 7 in) high and 0.4–2 m (1 ft 4 in – 6 ft 7 in) wide and its new growth densely covered with white, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are egg-shaped, 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long and 4–16 mm (0.16–0.63 in) wide on a petiole 1–5 mm (0.039–0.197 in) long with stipules 1–6 mm (0.039–0.236 in) long at the base. The edges of the leaves have 3 lobes and sometimes a heart-shaped base and are rolled under, the lower surface densely covered with star-shaped hairs. The flowers are arranged in clusters of 5 to 15 up to 30 mm (1.2 in) long on a peduncle 4–14 mm (0.16–0.55 in) long, each flower 5–12 mm (0.20–0.47 in) in diameter on a pedicel 1–6 mm (0.039–0.236 in) long. The flowers have five white to cream-coloured, petal-like sepals, five white petals with a linear ligule about the same length as the sepals, and a single white staminode between each pair of stamens. Flowering occurs from August to December and the fruit is a spherical capsule 12–15 mm (0.47–0.59 in) in diameter. ^[2]

Taxonomy

Commersonia corniculata was first formally described as Lasiopetalum corniculatum in 1822 by the English botanist James Edward Smith, from material gathered at King George Sound by Archibald Menzies. ^{[3] [4]} In 2018, Kelly Anne Shepherd and Carolyn Wilkins examined the material and determined that it matched the later described species, Commersonia cygnorum (described by Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel in 1845). ^[5] Since Lasiopetalum corniculatum is the first legitimate description of the plant, the name needed to be changed to Commersonia corniculata. ^[6]

The specific epithet (corniculata) means "corniculate", referring to the tips of the petals. ^[7]

Distribution and habitat

This species grows in woodland, heath and between granite boulders in near coastal areas south of Perth, from Busselton to Walpole-Nornalup National Park and near Esperance in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren bioregions of south-western Western Australia. ^{[2] [8]}

Conservation status

Commersonia corniculata is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. ^[8]

References

1. "Commersonia corniculata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
2. Blake, Trevor L. (2021). Lantern bushes of Australia; Thomasias & allied genera : a field and horticultural guide. Victoria: Australian Plants Society, Keilor Plains Group. pp. 172–173. ISBN   9780646839301.
3. "Commersonia corniculata". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
4. Smith, J.E (1822). Rees, A. (ed.). "Lasiopetalum". The Cyclopaedia. 20.
5. Steudel, E.G. von (1845). Lehmann, J.G.C. (ed.). "Buttneriaceae". Plantae Preissianae. 1 (2): 237.
6. Shepherd, Kelly Anne; Wilkins, Carolyn F. (2018). "Commersonia corniculata (Malvaceae), a new name for C. cygnorum" (PDF). Nuytsia. 29: 67–68. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
7. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 170. ISBN   9780958034180.
8. "Commersonia corniculata". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

External links

• Commersonia corniculata occurrence data from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium