''Crowea exalata'', commonly known as small crowea or waxflower, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the states of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is an attractive small shrub and is a popular garden plant. It flowers mainly from late summer to mid-winter when few others are flowering but usually has some flowers at other times of the year.

Description

''Crowea exalata'' is a small shrub, growing to a height of about with thin branches, often spreading to more than . Its leaves are narrow oblong to narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base and are long and wide. They have many oil glands and have a characteristic scent when crushed. The star-like flowers appear on the ends of the branches or in the axils of the leaves on a stalk long. The five

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s are egg-shaped, about and usually pink, sometimes white and a range of colours in the

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s. The stamens in the centre of the flower almost overlap. Flowering occurs mainly from mid-summer to late winter but flowers can be present most of the year. The fruits that follow are dry and have 5 compartments which open to release 2 seeds each.

Taxonomy and naming

''Crowea exalata'' was first formally described by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

in 1854. The description was published in Transactions of the Philosophical Society of Victoria. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''exalata'') is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''ex-'' meaning "out of" and ''alata'' meaning "winged", hence "wingless". Four subspecies are recognised by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...

as at November 2020: * ''C. exalata'' F.Muell. subsp. ''exalata'' * ''C. exalata'' subsp. ''magnifolia'' Gebert * ''C. exalata'' subsp. ''obcordata'' Gebert * ''C. exalata'' subsp. ''revoluta'' Paul G.Wilson Cultivars include: *'Bindalong Compact' *'Ginninderra Falls' *'Green Cape' *'Pink Blush' *'Ryans Star' *'Southern Stars' *'Star of Heaven' *'Whipstick' *'White Star'

Distribution and habitat

Small crowea occurs in New South Wales, Victoria and south east Queensland. It is found on the east coast, ranges and the slopes on the western side of the ranges. It grows in dry

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or ...

forest in sandy soil.

Use in horticulture

''Crowea exalata'' is widely cultivated and is usually available in Australian native plant nurseries. It grows best in light soil, partly shaded from the sun and is an ideal rockery plant. It is a hardy plant, especially when supplied with well-mulched soil and adequate water. Propagation is easier from cuttings because seeds must be nicked and held under running water for several weeks before sowing.

References

External Links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5189210 Sapindales of Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1854 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Zanthoxyloideae