Androcalva luteiflora - Flickr - Kevin Thiele

''Androcalva'' is a genus of 33 species of flowering plants in the family

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

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 continental Australia.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Androcalva'' are shrubs or trees and have stems, leaves and flowers covered with star-like hairs. The leaves are

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by John ...

, often with irregularly-toothed or lobed edges, and with

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above g ...

s at the base but that are sometimes deciduous. The flowers are

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, arranged in cymes opposite leaf axils, with 5

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s, 5 petals, 5

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s, and 5

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co ...

s sometimes with 3 lobes. The fruit is a bristly capsule with five

valves A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings, ...

, and is covered with star-shaped hairs.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Androcalva'' was first formally described in 2011 by Carolyn Wilkins and Barbara Whitlock in ''

Australian Systematic Botany ''Australian Systematic Botany'' is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal published by CSIRO Publishing. It is devoted to publishing original research, and sometimes review articles, on topics related to systematic botany, such as b ...

'' and comprises species formerly included in ''

Commersonia ''Commersonia'' is a genus of twenty-five species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae. Plants in this genus are shrubs or trees, occurring from Indochina to Australia and have stems, leaves and flowers covered with star-like hairs. The le ...

'' (22) 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'' w ...

'' (4) as well as 7 new species. The name ''Androcalva'' means "bald male", referring to the

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

staminodes.

Distribution

All 33 species of ''Androcalva'' are endemic to Australia, and species occur in all continental states and territories.

Species list

The following is a list of species accepted 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 of March 2023: *'' Androcalva adenothalia'' C.F.Wilkins (W.A.) *''

Androcalva aphrix ''Androcalva aphrix'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a dwarf, prostrate, hairy shrub with clusters of 14 or more pink or white flowers. D ...

'' C.F.Wilkins (W.A.) *'' Androcalva argentea'' ( Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *'' Androcalva beeronensis'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *'' Androcalva bivillosa'' C.F.Wilkins (W.A.) *'' Androcalva crispa'' ( Turcz.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock - crisped leaf commersonia (W.A.) *'' Androcalva cuneata'' (Turcz.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (W.A.) *'' Androcalva fragifolia'' C.F.Wilkins (W.A.) *'' Androcalva fraseri'' ( J.Gay) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock - blackfellow's hemp, brush kurrajong (N.S.W., Qld.) *'' Androcalva gaudichaudii'' (J.Gay) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (W.A.) *''

Androcalva incilis ''Androcalva incilis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with dark green, narrowly wedge-shaped to narrowly oblong leaves, a ...

'' C.F.Wilkins (W.A.) *'' Androcalva inglewoodensis'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *''

Androcalva johnsonii ''Androcalva johnsonii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to central Queensland. It is a low, spreading shrub that has hairy young branches, narrowly egg-shaped or oblong leaves with rounded teeth, and small ...

'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *''

Androcalva lachna ''Androcalva lachna'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the far west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped leaves, and heads of 4 to 12 white and pink flowers. Description ''Androcalva ...

'' C.F.Wilkins (W.A.) *''

Androcalva leichhardtii ''Androcalva leichhardtii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to central Queensland. It is a small shrub with hairy new growth, wrinkled, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves with irregular serrations on the edge ...

'' (

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *'' Androcalva leiperi'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *'' Androcalva loxophylla'' (

F.Muell. 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 (state), Vic ...

) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (W.A., N.T., S.A., Qld.) *'' Androcalva luteiflora'' ( E.Pritz.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (W.A., N.T.) *'' Androcalva melanopetala'' (F.Muell.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (W.A.) *'' Androcalva microphylla'' (Benth.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (W.A.) *''

Androcalva multiloba ''Androcalva multiloba'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. It is a dwarf shrub with densely hairy, irregularly serrated, egg-shaped leaves, and up to 5 white and red f ...

'' (C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (S.A.) *'' Androcalva pearnii'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *'' Androcalva pedleyi'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *''

Androcalva perkinsiana ''Androcalva perkinsiana'', commonly known as headland commersonia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to a restricted part of central eastern Queensland. It is a small, erect shrub with hairy young branchlets, ...

'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *'' Androcalva perlaria'' C.F.Wilkins (W.A.) *'' Androcalva procumbens'' (

Maiden Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

Betche Daniel Ludwig Ernst Betche (31 December 1851, in Potsdam – 28 June 1913, in Sydney) was a German-Australian horticulturist and botanist. His mother died at his birth and he was of delicate constitution all his life. His father was sufficiently ...

) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (N.S.W.) *'' Androcalva pulchella'' (Turcz.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (W.A.) *''

Androcalva reticulata ''Androcalva reticulata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to north-eastern Queensland. It is a low shrub that forms suckers, its new growth covered with star-shaped hairs, and has egg-shaped leaves with irr ...

'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld.) *'' Androcalva rosea'' ( S.A.J.Bell & L.M.Copel.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (N.S.W.) *'' Androcalva rossii'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock - blackfellow's hemp (N.S.W., Vic.) *''

Androcalva stowardii ''Androcalva stowardii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to inland parts of the south-west of Western Australia. It is a prostrate to low-lying shrub with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves, the edges smoothly s ...

'' ( S.Moore) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (W.A.) *'' Androcalva tatei'' (F.Muell. ex

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock - trailing commersonia (S.A., Vic.) *'' Androcalva viscidula'' (Guymer) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Qld., N.S.W.)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4759420 Malvales of Australia Malvaceae genera Plants described in 2011 Taxa named by Carolyn F. Wilkins Taxa named by Barbara Ann Whitlock Endemic flora of Australia