''Androcalva fraseri'', commonly known as blackfellow's hemp or brush kurrajong is a common shrub or small tree of the mallow family found in eastern Australia. Growing up to 8 metres tall, it is found in

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

margins and in wet eucalyptus forests.

Description

''Androcalva fraseri'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of shrub, or a small tree to high. Arranged alternately along the stems, the ovate leaves have irregularly toothed margins and are long and wide. The leaf undersides are whitish, and covered in a fine fur. Flowering peaks in September and continues till November. The small white flowers are arranged in clusters. Flowering is followed by the development of fruit, long.

Taxonomy

The French naturalist

Jacques Etienne Gay Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

was the first to formally describe the species in 1823. He gave it the name ''Commersonia fraseri'' and published the description in the journal, ''Mémoires du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle''. A 2011 molecular analysis of segments of chloroplast DNA found that the genera '' Commersonia'' and ''

Rulingia ''Rulingia '' is a genus of flowering plants native to Australia and Madagascar. In 2011, all species were transferred to ''Commersonia'' with the exception of ''Rulingia cuneata'', ''R. loxophylla'', ''R.luteiflora'' and ''R. procumbens'' which ...

'' formed a monophyletic group but that the member species were intermingled, and split out into two hitherto unrecognised clades. In 2011, Carolyn Wilkins and

Barbara Whitlock Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...

changed the name to ''Androcalva fraseri''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

honours Charles Fraser, an early New South Wales colonial botanist. Vernacular names include brush kurrajong and blackfellows hemp.

Distribution and habitat

''Androcalva fraseri'' is found in rainforest and wet eucalypt forest along and east of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales and southeastern Queensland. In the latter habitat, it is associated with trees such as rough-barked apple (''

Angophora floribunda ''Angophora floribunda'', commonly known as the rough-barked apple, is a common woodland and forest tree of the family Myrtaceae native to Eastern Australia. Reaching 30 m (100 ft) high, it is a large tree with fibrous bark and cream-wh ...

''), turpentine ('' Syncarpia glomulifera''), and Sydney blue gum ('' Eucalyptus saligna''). A fast-growing plant, it is able to colonise disturbed ground, particularly areas where vegetation has been partly cleared such as under power lines. It is an adult host plant for the

chrysomelid The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

beetle '' Podagra submetallica''.

Use in horticulture

''Androcalva fraseri'' has been propagated readily from cuttings taken in winter, and grows better with extra moisture in cultivation.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q17579647 Malvales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Plants described in 1823 fraseri Taxa named by Jaques Étienne Gay